Blackboards
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Samira Makhmalbaf
Saeed Mohamadi
Behnaz Jafari
Bahman Ghobadi
Mohamad Karim Rahmati
Rafat Moradi
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In a ravaged, brutally beautiful mountain landscape along the Iran-Iraq border, a group of teachers, with blackboards strapped to their backs, roam the countryside in search of pupils. After an attack by an army helicopter, two of the teachers, Said and Reeboir, separate from the group. Reeboir travels the dirt roads with a gang of illiterate boys who smuggle stolen goods across the border. Meanwhile, Said joins up with a group of old and tired men who, after years of being refugees, struggle to get back across the border to their bombed village of Halabcheh. Virtually none of the Kurds express an interest in learning to read or write, but the teachers' blackboards are pressed into service in a variety of other ways: camouflage, a stretcher, a splint for a broken leg, as well as providing shelter and protection from the frequent bursts of gunfire from the border troops. Still, Said and Reeboir persevere in their effort to educate anyone who is willing to learn. In a world filled with hardship and ignorance, the two teachers offer hope, kindness and the blessing of knowledge.
Director
Samira Makhmalbaf
Cast
Saeed Mohamadi
Behnaz Jafari
Bahman Ghobadi
Mohamad Karim Rahmati
Rafat Moradi
Mayas Rostami
Saman Akbari
Ahmad Bahrami
Mohamad Moradi
Karim Maradi
Hassan Mohamadi
Rasool Mohamadi
Somaye Veisee
Crew
Mohammad Ahmadi
Hossein Amiri
Mohammad Reza Darvishi
Hashem Gerami
Majid Ghafari
Ebrahim Ghafori
Ebrahim Ghafori
Shozo Ichiyama
Babak Karimi
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Samira Makhmalbaf
Akbar Meshkini
Marzieh Meshkini
Marziyeh Meshkini
Mojtaba Mirtahasebi
Kave Moeenfar
Asadollah Mohamadi
Marco Muller
Abbas Saghazsaz
Behrouz Shahamat
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 2001 (Shown at Rotterdam International Film Festival (Main Programme Features) January 24 - February 24, 2001.)
Released in United States October 2000 (Shown at AFI Fest 2000: The American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival (International Competition) October 19-26, 2000.)
Released in United States November 2000 (Shown at London Film Festival (Film on the Square) November 1-16, 2000.)
Released in United States Winter December 6, 2002 (NY)
Co-winner, along with Roy Andersson's "Songs From the Second Floor," of the Prix du Jury at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for best film at the 2000 AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival.
Released in United States 2001
Released in United States November 2000
Released in United States October 2000
Released in United States Winter December 6, 2002
Shown at London Film Festival (Film on the Square) November 1-16, 2000.
Shown at Rotterdam International Film Festival (Main Programme Features) January 24 - February 24, 2001.
Samira Makhmalbaf, the daughter of acclaimed Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, was only 20-years-old when "Takhte Siah" was selected for the illustrious main competition at Cannes, making her the youngest filmmaker to receive this honor. Makhmalbaf marked her feature directorial debut with "The Apple" (Iran/France/1998).
