''Gabbeh'' (

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 ...

: گبه) is a 1996 Iranian film directed by

Mohsen Makhmalbaf Mohsen Makhmalbaf (, ) (born May 29, 1957) is an Iranian film director, writer, film editor, and producer. He has made more than 20 feature films, won 50 awards, and served as a juror in more than 15 major film festivals. His award-winning films ...

. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1996 Cannes Film Festival The 49th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 1996. American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola served as jury president for the main competition. Sabine Azéma hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. British filmmaker Mike Leigh wo ...

. The film was selected as the Iranian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the

70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sho ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

The film derives its name from a type of Persian rug. It begins by showing an elderly couple, carrying their gabbeh, walking towards a river hoping to wash it. When the rug is spread upon the ground, a girl, referred to as Gabbeh, magically comes out of it. The film follows her story and the audience learn about her family, her uncle who is hoping to find a bride, and, most importantly, her longing for a young man she hopes to marry.

Cast

* Abbas Sayah as Uncle * Shaghayeh Djodat as Gabbeh * Hossein Moharami as Old Man * Rogheih Moharami as Old Woman * Parvaneh Ghalandari

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

. Shortly after it was banned in

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 ...

for being "subversive".

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 90% of 20 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.3/10, earning it a "Fresh" score.

Awards

* Best Director and Special Critics Award,

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

, 1996 *

Silver Screen Award The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is an annual film festival held every year in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Besides the competition feature and short film screenin ...

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Simplified Chinese, Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore, founded in 1987. The 35th Singapore International Film Festival took place from 28 Novem ...

* Best Artistic Contribution Award,

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

* One of 10 selected films by critics – Times (USA) 1996.

References

External links

Makhmalbaf Film House
* 1996 films Iranian drama films Iranian independent films 1990s Persian-language films Films directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf 1996 drama films Films scored by Hossein Alizadeh {{1990s-drama-film-stub