Cinema
Little Bird of Happiness
پرنده کوچک خوشبختی
Puran Derakhshandeh · 1988
Synopsis
Malihé has lost the power of speech following a shock suffered in childhood, and every memory of the past throws her into a nervous crisis. At the school for the deaf where she has been placed, she fights with everyone, has no friend, and has already tried to end her life. A new teacher arrives, Mrs Shafiq, who is also a psychologist: she seeks to understand what is gnawing at the child, but Malihé pushes her away every time.
Context
The author's second feature film, it was written by Sirus Taslimi, with Atieh Massoumi as Malihé, Homa Rousta as Mrs Shafiq, Amin Tarokh and Jamileh Sheikhi. Shot in 1366 of the Persian calendar, that is in 1987 or 1988, it was presented in Tehran at the beginning of 1988. It has been read as a criticism of the methods of education in use in the country, and it was shown again in 2012 in a series devoted to the author at the Tuškanac cinema in Zagreb.
Who it is for
A film in Persian of about two hours. It is worth knowing that it follows a child who does not speak, and that the past is revealed in it only in fragments.
Prizes and reception
Crystal Simorgh for best film at the Fajr festival, shared with Kani Manga, and five prizes in all; one of the great popular successes of Iranian cinema.