Sun Children
Iranian Dickensian drama, awarded in Venice, about a group of street children who go looking for a treasure that is said to be under their school.
SUN CHILDREN is the story of 12-year-old Ali and his three friends. Together they work hard to survive and support their families, doing small jobs in a garage and committing petty crimes to make fast money. In a turn of events that seems miraculous, Ali is entrusted to find a hidden treasure underground. He recruits his gang, but first, to gain access to the tunnel, the children must enrol at the Sun School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and child labourers, close to where the treasure is located.
Director Majid Majidi (THE SONG OF SPARROWS) has been making sensitive humanist films about Iranian children for nearly forty years. SUN CHILDREN fits seamlessly into his oeuvre. For the film, he worked with a non-professional cast of street children. In Venice, Rouhollah Zamani won the Marcello Mastroianni Award, a prize for the best young actor or actress.