The Contrary Route

Young Hamed, arrested for handing out political tracts banned by the Islamic Republic, finds himself in a place of great suffering, in which illiterate and penniless orphans wash floors and sell their own blood. When a disease breaks out in the prison, his life within this harsh environment becomes progressively worse, a near-daily fight for survival.

A young man finds love and his footing as an artist.

An Iranian film director (played by Jalili himself) embarks on casting for a new project. He believes he has found his lead in Samad Khani, a boy working at a bakery, whose face inspires him.

A young man named Shamsadin (Mehdi Moradi) receives the title of Hafez, bestowed only on those who memorize the Koran, and is sent to teach it to Nabat (Aso), the overseas-raised daughter of a religious leader. Although they never see each other's faces, feelings of love grow between them as they read the holy book. Unable to contain his feelings for Nabat, Hafez breaks his vows as a holy man by composing a poem to her, and is thrown out of her father's house and forced to relinquish his title. Then Nabat is forced to marry another man. Will the two ever be able to meet again?

Acclaimed director Abolfazl Jalili offers a compassionate story of the young Afghan refugee who lives illegally in Iran. 14-year-old Kaim drifts to the Delbaran crossing on the Afghan-Iran border, where he finds work at a coffee shop frequented by truck drivers. He feels at home in this small oasis of friendliness, though the sounds of war can be heard in the background, violent bandits prowl the roads, and opium is everywhere. As we watch Kaim run from one task to another day after day, we soon realize that we are watching a boy who is being cheated out of his childhood.

Don is the story of a young boy desperate to find work to help support his family and his heroin-addict parents. Moving from employer to employer, Don, aged only 9 and illiterate, faces an almost impossible task without an identity card. From Don's point of view, the world is a tough place, but he is determined to make the most of his situation.

This award-winning drama from Iran stars Hossein Saki as Shuan, a young man who supports himself as a cook and a security guard. Shuan's father (Nabi Jalilian) arrives one day with his daughter Balut (Zeinab Barbandi) in tow. Balut is crippled by paralysis and in poor health, and Father hopes that with Shuan's help they can find medical treatment that will restore Balut to health. However, with their meager financial resources, Shuan and his father are unable to do much for Balut; when the scientific treatments at their disposal fail to do the job, they resort to magic, and eventually prayer and sacrifice, in hopes of saving Balut's life. Det Means Girl was screened in competition at the 1995 Venice Film Festival, where it won a special prize for "its acute view of life in Iran."

During the Iran-Iraq war an orphan boy is taken in by an old man who lives in a cabin deep in the forest.

A young Iranian boy makes friends with a young girl of the same age against a backdrop of the humdrum daily existence of rural workers.

Ghesse Haye Kish was originally produced as a six-episode omnibus film with finances from investors on the Island of Kish in the Persian Gulf, which is a free zone belonging to Iran. All episodes take place on the abandoned island, which had profited from the passing ships between Asia and Europe in ancient times, and they are all about solitude.These three episodes were shown in competition at the 52nd Cannes Film Festival in 1999.

Seventeen-year-old Navid travels from his small village to a port city, looking a job as a teacher of Persian literature. He works odd jobs while waiting to hear back from the Education Center about a job. In the meantime, he falls in love with young girl, whom he believes he saw in a dream. After a series of events, including some jail time, he loses his teaching job to the girl. Defeated, he leaves town via a boat, where he meets another girl, whom he is convinced is the woman from his dreams.

In a Tehran youth detention centre, detainees have the right to short furloughs, as long as their family provides sufficient bail to guarantee their return. The detention centre’s governor decides to help those without family to take advantage of this right.