The White Balloon

Colour, 35mm
Iran, 1995, 85 min
Section: Tribute to Jafar Panahi

Synopsis

On New Year’s Eve (the first day of spring in the Moslem calendar), seven-year-old Razieh wants to get a new goldfish. She begs her mother for the money who finally gives Razieh her last big bill. The little girl almost loses it while watching some devious snake charmers, and ultimately drops it down a street grate where she can see it but can’t get at it. Various people (an elderly woman, a shirt seller, a soldier on leave and an Afghan balloon seller) either help her or not since it’s the last day of the old year and they have worries of their own. The new fish seems good and fat to the little girl though it’s the same fish she had before. It’s a matter of perspective, of the dreams and joys we live through in our lives. The film took the Golden Camera and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 48th Cannes IFF (Quinzaine des réalisateurs), Best Young Film and the Bronze Dragon at the 8th Tokyo IFF, Best Picture at the 19th Sao Paolo IFF and the Toronto festival, and the 1996 New York Film Critics’ Award for Best Foreign Film. Other awards: the Golden Butterfly for Best Actress (Aida Mohammadkhani) and an Honourable Mention at the 10th Isfahan IFF for Chidren and Young People, Best Debut and an Honourable Mention (for actress Aida Mohammadkhani) at the 13th Fajr IFF in Teheran.