Itinerant Kurdish teachers, carrying blackboards on their backs, look for students in the hills and villages of Iran, near the Iraqi border during the Iran-Iraq war. Said falls in with a group of old men looking for their bombed-out village; he offers to guide them, and takes as his wife Halaleh, the clan's lone woman, a widow with a young son. Reeboir attaches himself to a dozen pre-teen boys weighed down by contraband they carry across the border; they're mules, always on the move. Said and Reeboir try to teach as their potential students keep walking. Danger is close; armed soldiers patrol the skies, the roads, and the border. Is there a role for a teacher? Is there hope?
Where to watch
Not streaming anywhere
Not on any streaming service in United States, and not available to rent.
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Cast
12 people
Said Mohamadi
Said
Also in
Delbaran
Behnaz Jafari
Halaleh
Known for
Yalda
Terrestrial Verses
Bahman Ghobadi
Rebwar
Known for
The Wind Will Carry Us
No One Knows About Persian Cats
Mohamad Karim Rahmati
Father
No other roles listed
Rafat Moradi
Ribwar
Mayas Rostami
Young boy storyteller
No other roles listed
Saman Akbari
Group leader
Also in
Cold Shadows
Ahmad Bahrami
Marriage registrar
Also in
21 Inches
Karim Moradi
Old man
No other roles listed
Hassan Mohamadi
Child
No other roles listed
Rasool Mohamadi
The boy porter
No other roles listed
Somaye Veisee
Little girl
No other roles listed
Samira Makhmalbaf Director · Mohsen Makhmalbaf Writer
United States release December 6, 2002 · Produced in Iran, Italy, Japan · Languages Kurdish, Persian
Production
Fabrica
Production
Makhmalbaf Film House Productions
Production
RAI Cinema
Production
T-Mark
Production
Rai Cinemafiction
Production
Iran · Italy · Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
تخته سياه
Original language
Persian
Spoken on screen
Kurdish · Persian
Release dates
France · May 11, 2000
Premiere · Cannes Film Festival
United States · December 6, 2002
Limited theatrical
United States
October 25, 2000 · Premiere · AFI Film Festival
France
October 11, 2000 · Theatrical
Italy
September 1, 2000 · Theatrical
South Korea
November 14, 2003 · Theatrical
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