Water , Wind , Dust , Bread

Documentary | Short

SYNOPSIS

It’s the story of little Abolfazl’s hard but joyous life along with his playmate, Setayesh, in a desert in Iran.

Movie specifications

Duration : 52′

Director/Writer : Mehdi Zamanpour Kiasari

Producer : Somayeh Zeraatkar And Mehdi Zamanpour Kiasari

Cinematographers : Davood Rahmani, Hassan Seyedi Parishan And Mehdi Zamanpour Kiasari

Release Date :  2021

Sound Editor : Arash Ghasemi

Sound Recordist : Payam Mirtabrizian

Editor : Mohammadreza Vatandoust

Storyline

In an oasis in the Iranian desert, 11-year-old Abolfazl picks dates, tends his family’s cows, does his homework, and has fun with his best friend Setayesh. The camera quietly observes their friendship as they swing between the date palms or climb the windswept rocks around the oasis. Abolfazl’s mother bakes fresh bread, and tourists come to her guesthouse for the serene atmosphere.

But life in the oasis is not entirely idyllic. Although Abolfazl lives with a physical disability, it is Setayesh who faces an even bigger hurdle. She is one of the 40,000 children in Iran who don’t have a birth certificate, and as a result she can’t go to school.

After making many films and gaining various experiences on subjects such as children’s rights, raising awareness about disability and social issues, I went to the desert and the poor region of Fahraj in Kerman for four years for voluntary activities. Not having a birth certificate is very normal in this area and many children are deprived of their basic rights of living. With the help from my friends, we tried to provide more help in this area by raising awareness and creating content. And I couldn’t make a movie out of all the footage I had because I knew that anyone who sees these kinds of footage will end up feeling sick because of all the poverty and misery. (Of course this is definitely not he idea behind the film), until I came across Abolfazl and Setayesh. Besides showing the problems of this areas, especially the problem of not having a birth certificate, that has prevented Setayesh to have an education, I tried to depict the fun those two children had together and the effort of Abolfazl, who in my opinion was an absolute hero.

Water, wind, earth, and fire are the four elements of the creation of the world. We used “bread” instead of “fire” in the naming of the film. This was an area in which the people were even deprived of simple bread. This film is an intimate and close story of two children who live with pain and suffering, but have big hearts and a sweet beautiful world.

Director’s Statement
and
personal motives