The acclaimed movie is scheduled to be screened in the official competition of the Venice Film Festival, which unveiled its lineup last week.

The film tells 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. Everything changes, however, when Ali is entrusted to find a hidden treasure underground but must first enroll at the Sun (Khorshid) School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and child laborers.

Majidi’s 1991 feature debut “Baduk” was previously represented by Celluloid Dreams. He was the first Iranian director to receive an Academy Award nomination for his “Children of Heaven” in 1996.

“The message of ‘Sun Children’ is that we are all responsible for these children, many of whom are extremely talented and all of whom are precious,” Majidi once said.

“It is simply not tolerable that their social and economic status consign them to a future of limited opportunities and poor prospects,” he added.

The drama won the Crystal Simorgh for best film at the 38th edition of the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran in February.

Source: Tehran Times