The Breadwinner
Ajyal Competition, Special Screening
Nora Twomey / Feature Narrative / Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg / 2017 / 93 min / Colour / DCP
In English / Arabic subtitles
Interests: Animation
MENA Premiere
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a tiny apartment building in war-torn Kabul. She grows up listening to stories told by her father while helping him in the marketplace, where he reads and writes letters for people to earn a living.
One day, her father is arrested by the authorities, and Parvana’s life is changed forever. During a time in a place where women are not allowed to leave home without men, her family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.
To help, Parvana decides to cut her hair and disguise herself as a boy, turning herself into the breadwinner for the family. And though she is in danger of being discovered, she is resolved to find a way to rescue her father.
‘The Breadwinner’ is a wonderful tale of female empowerment and imagination in the face of oppression – and a celebration of the culture, history and beauty of Afghanistan. Executive-produced by Angelina Jolie, the film recently took the top prize at the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles.
About the Directors
Nora Twomey oversees the development of Cartoon Saloon’s slate of productions. Twomey directed the multi-award-winning short films ‘From Darkness’ (2002) and ‘Backwards Boy’ (2004), and was co-director of the Academy Award-nominated animated feature ‘The Secret of Kells’ (2009). She then served as Head of Story on the company’s second feature, ‘Song of the Sea’ (2014), which was also nominated for an Oscar. ‘The Breadwinner’, a feature adaptation of Deborah Ellis’s best-selling young adult novel, is her debut as a solo feature director.
Credits
- Director
- Nora Twomey
- Screenwriter
- Anita Doron, Deborah Ellis
- Producer
- Anthony Leo, Andrew Rosen, Paul Young, Tomm Moore, Stephan Roelants
- Editor
- Darragh Byrne
- Executive Producer
- Angelina Jolie, Gerry Shirren, Mimi Polk Gitlin, Jon Levin, Regina K. Scully, Eric Beckman, David Jesteadt, Mary Bredin, Frank Falcone, Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaim
- Music
- Mychael Danna, Jeff Danna
- Cinematographer
- Sheldon Lisoy
- Sales Company
- Westend Films
- Production Company
- Cartoon Saloon, Aircraft Pictures, Melusine Productions
- Assistant Director
- Stuart Shankly
- Distributor
- ECS Films
- Cast
- Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif, Ali Badshah, Kawa Ada, Noorin Gulamgaus