''Baduk '' () is a

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Iranian film The cinema of Iran (), or of Name of Iran, Persia, refers to the film industry in Iran. In particular, Iranian art films have garnered international recognition. Iranian films are usually written and spoken in the Persian language. Iran has bee ...

. It was the debut feature of director

Majid Majidi Majid Majidi () is an Iranian filmmaker and producer. In his films, Majidi has touched on many themes and genres and has won numerous international awards. Biography Born in a Persian middle-class family, he grew up in Tehran and at the age of 1 ...

. The film deals with child slavery. The

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

term "baduk" refers to people, often children hired against their will, who carry

smuggled Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

merchandise from the border on foot.

Synopsis

Jafar and his sister Jamal are separated from their mother after their father is killed in a well cave-in. While walking along the road, the siblings are kidnapped and sold into slavery. Jamal is dressed in fancy silks, destined to be the playmate of a Saudi prince. Jafar is drafted into a band of child baduki, bringing goods across the Pakistan-Iran border. Jafar escapes his captors, and engages the help of Noredin, a Pakistani baduk he has befriended. Together they work to free Jafar's sister, Jamal. The movie ends with a doomed act of bravery on the part of Jafar.

Background and critical response

The film was shot in Sistan and Baluchestan, an arid province in southeast Iran. Baduk premiered in January 1992, and was shown that February at the Tehran

Fajr Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival (), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; ), has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Iran), Ministry of Culture ...

. It was screened at the

Director's Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

in 1992, where it was considered a bold film from the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Director Majidi ran into censorship problems after making this film.

Awards

* Best New Film, 10th Annual

* Best Screen Play, 10th Annual

Sources

* Sons Against Fathers. Article by Massoud Mehrab

* Synopsis from Allmovie, New York Time

* Synopsis, Associação Brasileira Mostra Internacional de Cinem

* International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults, Ira

External links

* 1992 films 1992 drama films Iranian drama films 1990s Persian-language films Films directed by Majid Majidi Films shot in Iran 1992 directorial debut films Persian-language drama films {{Iran-film-stub