''Sun Children'' ( fa, خورشید, Khoršid), also known as ''The Sun'', is a 2020 Iranian

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film co-produced, co-written and directed by

Majid Majidi Majid Majidi ( fa, مجید مجیدی, ; born 17 April 1959) is an Iranian film director, producer, and screenwriter, who started his film career as an actor. In his films, Majidi has touched on many themes and genres and has won numerous inte ...

. It was presented in competition at the

77th Venice International Film Festival The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Ties ...

, where child actor

Rouhollah Zamani Rouhollah Zamani (Persian: روح‌الله زمانی) is an Iranian actor, known for his performance in the 2020 film '' Sun Children''. Career Zamani rose to prominence for his performance as Ali in the 2020 acclaimed drama film '' Sun Chi ...

won the

Marcello Mastroianni Award The Marcello Mastroianni Award (Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian la ...

. It was selected as the Iranian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

, making the shortlist of fifteen films.

Plot

12-year-old Ali and his three friends do small jobs and petty crimes to survive and support their families. In a timely turn of events, Ali is entrusted to find a hidden underground treasure. However, in order to gain access to the tunnel where the treasure is buried, Ali and his gang have first to enroll at the near Sun School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and

child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

ers.

Cast

as Ali *

Javad Ezzati Mohammad Javad Ezzati ( fa, محمد جواد عزتی, born January 10, 1982) is an Iranian actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres. As of 2019, Ezzati's starring films have grossed 150 billion toman and a ...

as School Vice Principal * Shamila Shirzad as Zahra *

Ali Nassirian Ali Nassirian ( fa, علی نصیریان; born 4 February 1935) is an Iranian actor and director. He has received various accolades, including a Crystal Simorgh and a Hafez Award. Film career He first appeared in a supporting role in Dariu ...

as Hashem * Abolfazl Shirzad as Abolfazl * Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi Fard as Mamad * Mani Ghafouri as Reza * Safar Mohammadi as School Janitor * Ali Ghabeshi as School Principal *

Tannaz Tabatabaei Tannaz Tabatabaei ( fa, طناز طباطبایی; born May 10, 1983) is an Iranian actress. She has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorgh for her performances in ''Drown'' (2020) and '' Without Her'' (2022) and two Iran's Fi ...

as Ali's mother (cameo).

Reception

Critical response

—

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

/ Deborah Young —

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

/ Peter Debruge —

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

/ Xan Brooks On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of .

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Children 2020 films 2020 drama films Iranian drama films 2020s Persian-language films Films directed by Majid Majidi Films about child labour Films set in Tehran Films whose writer won the Best Screenplay Crystal Simorgh Crystal Simorgh for Best Film winners