Compassion · Focus · Courage | A Journey from Iranian Children Cinema to the World

Between The Cliffs, written and directed by Mokhtar Abdollahi, centers on the day-and-night ordeal of a brother and sister, unfolding their journey with measured pacing as they navigate curiosity, fear, dependence, hope, and courage. Initially reluctant to take his sister along, the boy doubts her physical ability and fears she’ll slow him down. Yet as their struggle progresses, his pride softens into tenderness. He strives to emulate their father’s protective role—only to tumble off a cliff, left immobilized and awaiting rescue. From sunset to sunrise, the wilderness tests them relentlessly: one sibling shivering atop the cliffs, the other desperate below. Director Abdollahi bridges their separate worlds through sound, crafting two haunting imaginative spaces. At times, we become the fallen brother, deciphering his sister’s distant cries to grasp her plight. At others, we’re the sister—scanning the horizon, her flock of sheep lost, her father nowhere in sight. The howls of coyotes hint at her proximity, yet when only the brother’s shouts echo, the audience senses danger replaying helplessly in his mind, a peril he can neither escape nor confront.

Featured as one of two Iranian films in the 2024 China International Children's Film Festival's screening program with audience engagement, Beyro recreates the childhood experiences of Iranian national football team goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, transforming it into a journey of curiosity that explores his achievements and indomitable character. From a gifted but impoverished boy to the core player who overcame numerous setbacks and ultimately grasped the true essence of football—was it pride/inferiority that carried him through each crisis, or was it the longing for dreams/responsibility that refused to let him give up?

Director Morteza Ali Abbasmirzaee perceptively captures the inner world of this child from an impoverished family, growing up under his father's reprimands. The film follows his journey from a remote mountain village to Tehran - a metropolis teeming with football clubs - where he struggles on the margins, homeless and hungry, facing unprecedented challenges: a coach's harsh criticisms, a best friend's abandonment, crises of trust. In documenting this boy's childhood compelled to mature for his dreams, the film doesn't seek to footnote his eventual success. Rather, through a child's perspective, it re-examines those overlooked traumatic moments behind the glory - every child deserves room to grow, yet some never have sufficient space for their souls to take root. Thus football became this gifted goalkeeper's sole refuge: eliminating distractions, pure focus became the connective tissue between present hardships and future dreams.

At the Jinan screening, director Abbasmirzaee enthusiastically engaged with young audience members. He not only explained the unique musical culture of protagonist Alireza Beiranvand's native village to curious viewers - helping them better understand how childhood shapes resilient character - but also signed Iranian film postcards as souvenirs for excited children. When one audience member asked, "What does it take to become a player like Beiranvand?" Abbasmirzaee responded: "Focus on being yourself, the best version of yourself."

The plot of Loupetoo is straightforward: Dr. Kamali decides to reform the psychiatric hospital's treatment system by teaching patients to make children's toys. After this initiative succeeds, a greedy businessman, threatened by declining toy sales, resolves to oppose them. When the businessman's schemes take effect and the toy factory faces closure, the once-clumsy but endearing employees rally to save it. Meanwhile, Dr. Kamali's son Ali, upon learning the truth, not only strives to overcome his father's prejudice and prove his independence, but also unites the misinformed staff and ultimately convinces his father to jointly uncover the reason behind the factory's impending shutdown.