Disc 1. Ten:
World-renowned Iranian writer-director Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry, Through the Olive Trees) has created a deceptively simple work—shot on digital video within the confines of a single vehicle—that brings the intricate nature of Iran’s sexual and social politics into sharp focus. Seen through the eyes of a beautiful, chador-clad divorcée, the film catches her impromptu conversations with various female passengers (and her imperious young son) as she navigates Tehran’s congested and vibrant streets over the course of several days. As Kiarostami’s “dashboard cam” eavesdrops on these extraordinary and moving stories of sex, divorce, love and religion, an entirely original and fascinating portrait of modern Iran emerges..
Disc 2. ABC Africa:
Over the course of a ten-day visit to Uganda, Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us) uses his camera to capture and caress the faces of a thousand orphans.
Although a documentary about the ravages of AIDS and civil war in Uganda may seem at first like a radical departure, one of the most remarkable things about ABC Africa is the way that Iran¹s most celebrated auteur makes such unlikely material very much his own. In true Kiarostami style, an impressionistic, deceptively simple record of a journey becomes the film itself. This striking visual poem is full of echoes from his oeuvre: the hypnotic tracking shots from car windows, the dirt-road villages, the majestic landscapes and, above all, the emphasis on the resilience and resourcefulness of children.
Alternately heartbreaking and optimistic, ABC Africa records a people struggling to survive. Filled with laughter and music, and pulsing with life, Kiarostami¹s vision attests to Africa¹s sunny spirit in the face of so much adversity.