The Orphanage
Set in late Soviet-era Afghanistan, this coming-of-age tale from Shahrbanoo Sadat follows her acclaimed debut Wolf and Sheep, and is the second film in a planned pentalogy based on the diary of writer Anwar Hashimi. Protagonist Qodrat returns, now a 15-year-old boy who is sent to a state orphanage after getting caught selling black market cinema tickets. Coping with bullies, friendship and a nascent romance, Qodrat finds escape in Bollywood-esque song-and-dance fantasies that delight him – and the audience – even as his homeland starts to fall apart. Sadat captures the innocence of late 1980s Afghan youth with pleasing and nostalgia-tinted charm, while remaining keenly aware of the violence that history would soon thrust upon them. —AnonymusB
Genre: Music
Director: Shahrbanoo Sadat
Actors: Ahmad Fayaz Omadi, Anwar Hashimi, Hasibullah Rasooli, Masihullah Feraji, Qodratollah Qadiri, Sediqa Rasuli
Country: Afghanistan, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, South Korea, United States
