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Khane-ye doust kojast

Where Is the Friend’s House? | Wo ist das Haus meines Freundes?
Retrospective 2023
© Kanoon
Ahmed has accidently put his classmate Mohamed’s school notebook in his bag. Mohamed is fresh off an ultimatum from the teacher – if he delivers his homework on loose sheets of paper instead of in the notebook one more time, he will be expelled. So Ahmed is determined to bring the notebook to his friend. But his mother won’t allow it, saying he needs to stay home and do chores. Tasked with going to buy bread, Ahmed uses the opportunity to sneak off. But when he gets to the neighbouring village, he can’t find Mohamed’s home. Adults keep getting in the way and leading him astray. Then it starts to get dark … Abbas Kiarostami uses Ahmed’s odyssey, a childlike precursor to the famous car journeys in the director’s films, to expose the ignorance and authoritarian posturing of adults under repressive conditions. Where Is the Friend’s House? inexorably evokes the Kafkaesque nightmare that can easily take hold of children subjected to adult omnipotence. In the end, the way out of the film’s Minotaur-like labyrinth is an act of solidarity that throws the ogre of a teacher off the scent, as well as delivering closure to the audience.
by Abbas Kiarostami
with Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Kheda Barech Defaei, Iran Outari, Ali Djamali, Nader Ghoulami, Akbar Mouradi, Ait Ansari, Sadika Taohidi Iran 1987 Farsi 83’ Colour Rating R0

For the 2023 Retrospective, internationally renowned directors, actors, and screenwriters were asked to select their personal coming-of-age favourites.
Niki Karimi on her selection

With

  • Babek Ahmed Poor
  • Ahmed Ahmed Poor
  • Kheda Barech Defaei
  • Iran Outari
  • Ali Djamali
  • Nader Ghoulami
  • Akbar Mouradi
  • Ait Ansari
  • Sadika Taohidi

Crew

Director Abbas Kiarostami
Cinematography Farhad Saba
Editing Abbas Kiarostami
Music Amine Allah Hessine
Sound Behrouz Moavenian, Jahangir Mirshekari, Asghar Shahverdi
Art Director Reza Nami
Costumes Hassan Zahidi
Producer Ali Reza Zarrin

Produced by

Kanun-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Kudakan va Nojavanan

Additional information

DCP: mk2 films, Paris