Hosta

The President (Persian: پرزیدنت) is a film by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf following the themes of his previous film The Gardener.

The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, in the Horizons competition.^[1]

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.^[2]

The inspiration for the film came when Makhmalbaf visited the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul. The Arab Spring revolutions were also inspirations.^[3]

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

^ "Mohsen Makhmalbaf - News".
^ BEN KENIGSBERG (2 June 2016). "Review: 'The President,' a Sweeping Tale Inspired by the Arab Spring". New York Times.
^ Mark Schilling (7 October 2014). "BUSAN: Iranian Director Makhmalbaf Assesses His 'President'". Variety.

External links

[1] "Mohsen Makhmalbaf - News".

[2] BEN KENIGSBERG (2 June 2016). "Review: 'The President,' a Sweeping Tale Inspired by the Arab Spring". New York Times.

[3] Mark Schilling (7 October 2014). "BUSAN: Iranian Director Makhmalbaf Assesses His 'President'". Variety.

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Chicago International Film Festival Gold Hugo
1960s	The Lollipop Cover (1965) Bushido, Samurai Saga (1966) Here Is Your Life (1967) Innocence Unprotected (1968) Who Saw Him Die? (1969)
1970s	The Green Wall (1970) Mon oncle Antoine (1971) Bleak Moments (1972) Morgiana (1973) Pirosmani (1974) The Promised Land (1975) Kings of the Road (1976) The Hunters (1977) To an Unknown God (1978) Angi Vera (1979)
1980s	Camera Buff (1980) Marianne and Juliane (1981) Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) El Sur (1983) Khandhar (1984) The Official Story (1985) Welcome in Vienna (1986) Whooping Cough (1987) Little Vera (1988) Zerograd (1989)
1990s	Ju Dou (1990) Delicatessen (1991) Dream of Light (1992) Twinkle (1993) 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) Maborosi (1995) Ridicule (1996) The Winter Guest (1997) The Hole (1998) Sachs' Disease (1999)
2000s	Amores perros (2000) Fat Girl (2001) Madame Satã (2002) Crimson Gold (2003) Kontroll (2004) My Nikifor (2005) Fireworks Wednesday (2006) Silent Light (2007) Hunger (2008) Mississippi Damned (2009)
2010s	How I Ended This Summer (2010) Le Havre (2011) Holy Motors (2012) My Sweet Pepper Land (2013) The President (2014) A Childhood (2015) Sieranevada (2016) A Sort of Family (2017) Happy as Lazzaro (2018) Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
2020s	Sweat (2020) Memoria (2021) Godland (2022) Explanation for Everything (2023)