With his father dead, 9-year-old Hewad has been prematurely thrust into the role of family breadwinner, hauling a produce-laden street cart through the center of Kabul all day for a pittance. It’s no life for a pre-teen boy, but Hewad endures it steadfastly, believing eventual movie stardom will be his reward. As played by first-timer Arafat Faiz in “When Pomegranates Howl,” you just about believe him. The non-professional actor’s quick grin and darting onscreen energy are the animating forces of Iranian-Australian filmmaker Granaz Moussavi’s conventional but effective heart-tugger, which filters the bone-weary experience of the Afghan population under wartime through Hewad’s hopeful perspective — only to undercut his optimism at key, cruel points.
This year’s Australian submission to the Oscar international feature race, “When Pomegranates Howl” recently screened at the Tokyo Film Festival, having already made some headway on the Australian fest circuit. Further festival play...
This year’s Australian submission to the Oscar international feature race, “When Pomegranates Howl” recently screened at the Tokyo Film Festival, having already made some headway on the Australian fest circuit. Further festival play...
- 11/10/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The 25th edition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is about to kick off, and between 12-28 of November the audience will have the oportunity to watch a great number of films from Asia, strewn across festival’s various program sections, including all competition segments. We went through the complete program and counted no more or less than 69 films from the broader Asian region.
Quite surprising is the amount of competition titles in the main selection, with three world premieres, four international. Lu ZHang’s “Yanagawa” will have its European premiere at PÖFF.
Yerzhanov returns to Tallinn a year after he presented two films at the festival, the main competition title “Ulbolsyn” about a woman who comes to a Kazhak village to “steer trouble”, and the oddball comedy “Yellow Cat” screened in the Current Waves program. Kirill Sokolov is also back two years after the premiere of his critically acclaimed...
Quite surprising is the amount of competition titles in the main selection, with three world premieres, four international. Lu ZHang’s “Yanagawa” will have its European premiere at PÖFF.
Yerzhanov returns to Tallinn a year after he presented two films at the festival, the main competition title “Ulbolsyn” about a woman who comes to a Kazhak village to “steer trouble”, and the oddball comedy “Yellow Cat” screened in the Current Waves program. Kirill Sokolov is also back two years after the premiere of his critically acclaimed...
- 11/10/2021
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
International Oscar Race: Australia Selects ‘When Pomegranates Howl’; Argentina Picks ‘The Intruder’
Australia is sending Granaz Moussavi’s When Pomegranates Howl to the Academy as its submission for this year’s International Oscar race.
The Australia-Afghanistan co-production, from Iranian-Australian filmmaker Moussavi, is an anti-war drama. Shot in Afghanistan, the story follows Hewad, an irrepressible nine-year old boy who hustles on the streets of Kabul – selling everything from pomegranate juice to protection from the evil eye.
The film is up for Best Youth Feature Film at the 2021 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, which announces November 11.
Separately, Argentina has selected Natalia Meta’s horror-thriller The Intruder as its entry.
The film debuted at Berlinale last year. It is the story of Inés, a young woman who after a traumatic episode during a trip with her partner begins to confuse herself between the real and the imaginary.
Producers on the movie are Rei Cine and Picnic Producciones, with co-producers Infinity Hill and Barraca Producciones, in association with Piano,...
The Australia-Afghanistan co-production, from Iranian-Australian filmmaker Moussavi, is an anti-war drama. Shot in Afghanistan, the story follows Hewad, an irrepressible nine-year old boy who hustles on the streets of Kabul – selling everything from pomegranate juice to protection from the evil eye.
The film is up for Best Youth Feature Film at the 2021 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, which announces November 11.
Separately, Argentina has selected Natalia Meta’s horror-thriller The Intruder as its entry.
The film debuted at Berlinale last year. It is the story of Inés, a young woman who after a traumatic episode during a trip with her partner begins to confuse herself between the real and the imaginary.
Producers on the movie are Rei Cine and Picnic Producciones, with co-producers Infinity Hill and Barraca Producciones, in association with Piano,...
- 10/25/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
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