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Other movies
BLACK RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT
Director: Shahram Mokri
Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri develops multiple plot strands this engrossing, multilayered, playful and skilled drama centering around Sarah, the victim of a suspicious car crash who is swaddled in bandages and at odds with her controlling husband. What turns out to be a film-within-a-film-within-a-film zooms out to include the remake of a classic Iranian movie in Tajikistan, an armourer worried about a prop gun and an actress looking for her big break. Of course their fates collide through multiple fluid, bravura circular takes, often covering the same time frame, bold touches of magical realism — or are they sight gags? — and an eternal mystery. This spinning story is Tajikistan’s Oscar entry for this year.
GHOST SCHOOL
Director: Seemab Gul
This gentle yet arresting debut feature from Seemab Gul centers around 10-year-old Rabia, a clear-eyed, logical-thinking, courageous child protagonist who wants to understand the real reason for the abrupt closure of her school. Rumours start that the school is haunted and her teacher is possessed by supernatural beings. However, her day-long quest for the truth, fuelled by her simple desire for an education, leads her into an adult world that has been plunged into superstition. What soon becomes clear are the machinations behind a corrupt regime and classist society, giving way to the nature of its real victims. Ghost School is a bittersweet portrayal of injustice for Rabia and the hope of a better future for all younger generations.