Half Moon NEW HORIZONS International Competition

Cast:
Ismail Ghaffari (Mamo), Allah Morad Rashtiani, Hedieh Tehrani, Golshifteh Farahani, Hassan Poorshirazi

Half Moon is the story of the journey. Mamo, a renowned and admired old Kurdish singer is heading to Iraqi Kurdistan along with ten of his sons in order to perform a concert after years of silence. They are invited to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan so that they can perform a music concert for the very first time after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government.

Mamo's music is composed through the essence of a woman's voice. Mamo intends to take the woman singer along with his music group on the trip. They wait seven months to obtain an authorization for the woman's presence and cooperation in their music group. However given that women's singing in Iran is forbidden, they are obliged to make the trip illegally ...

Halfmoon has moments of magic, celebratory music (often sung by women) and makes use of the haunting landscapes of Kurdish Iran. At the same time, it's a film that is unafraid to approach the contemporary realities of the region, but with irony and dark wit.

New Crowned Hope Festival

The Requiem was the path that lead me to do this film. During writing and production I kept thinking about both Mozart and Mamo's death. The Requiem has for me a very close feeling to Kurdistan's landscape. I hope I have fulfilled my dream and brought Mamo's spirit close to Mozart.

Bahman Ghobadi

This film is part of the New Crowned Hope Festival produced by Wiener Festwochen Vienna Mozart Year 2006.