Ajyal Film Festival 2023

All Films

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.

Official Film Website

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

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