''The President'' ( Persian: پرزیدنت) is a film by Iranian director

Mohsen Makhmalbaf Mohsen Makhmalbaf ( fa, محسن مخملباف, ''Mohsen Makhmalbaaf''; born May 29, 1957) is an Iranian film director, writer, film editor, and producer. He has made more than 20 feature films, won some 50 awards and been a juror in more than 1 ...

following the themes of his previous film '' The Gardener''. ''The President'' had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2014, opening the festival together with '' Birdman''.

Plot

A revolution is happening in a country with a dictatorial president. The president sends his family abroad but his grandson wants to stay with his grandfather. In order to save their lives they run away and the president uses a wig and a guitar to disguise himself as a gypsy. They want to reach the sea so they can go to another country by boat. They must experience poverty and hunger during their journey, and see the effects of the dictatorship on the country. The inspiration for the film came when Makhmalbaf visited the

Darul Aman Palace Darul Aman Palace ( ps, د دارالامان ماڼۍ; prs, قصر دارالامان; 'Abode of Peace' or, in a double meaning, 'Abode of Amanllah) is a three-story-tall palace located in Darulaman, which about south-west of the centre of Ka ...

in Kabul. The

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

revolutions were also inspirations.

Festivals

* Venice International Film Festival, Italy, 2014 (Opening film) * Busan International Film Festival, South Korea, 2014 * Beirut International Film Festival, Lebanon, 2014 * Chicago International Film Festival, USA, 2014 * London Film Festival, United Kingdom, 2014 * Warsaw International Film Festival, Poland, 2014 * Tokyo FILMeX International Film Festival, Japan, 2014 * International Film Festival Of India ( Goa), India, 2014 (Opening film) * Tbilisi International Film Festival, Georgia, 2014 (Opening film) * Carthage International Film Festival, Tunnis, 2014 * Tertio Millennio Film Festival, Italy, 2014 (Opening film) * Inter National Film Festival of India (Kerala) 2014

Awards

* Golden Hugo for the best film from Chicago International Film Festival, United States, 2014 * Audience Award for the Best Film from the 15th TOKYO FILMeX International Film Festival, Japan, 2014 * Société Générale Award for Best Feature Film by the audience vote from the 14th Beirut International Film Festival, Lebanon, 2014

References

External links

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THE GUARDIAN - Film Review

SCREEN DAILY- The President
{{DEFAULTSORT:President, The (2014 film) 2014 films Films directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf