The Nightly Song of the Travellers

Institut Francais in association with Iran Heritage Foundation.

The Nightly Song of the Travellers is the belated début film by writer Chapour Haghighat, based on his own novel. While the book is set in the mountainous east of France, Haghighat has set the film version in East Anatolia, where the old tailor Yolan is searching for his birthplace. Yolan is of Turkish origin and has spent several years in jail for insulting a mullah in the Iranian town of Tabriz. He fled to Turkey with the little boy Ozal. Their quest is hard. The village they seek seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. While they roam the country, the target of their journey seems to become less and less clear. A plethora of short, serious and comic encounters with grumpy truckers, gambling city folk and suspicious villagers provides a glimpse of an age-old world filled with traditions, faith and history. It is, however, a world in which the old man and the boy - nomads in settled surroundings - don't seem to be able to find their place. They are increasingly just witnesses of the hectic life around them. A seer eventually shows them the way to a dark beach, where Yolan joins some dancing Armenians. 'The world around him is at the same time commonplace and fantastical. This absurd and cruel world does not offer a well-defined path. Even the seer Yolan turns to leaves things up to chance. Yolan's story is the absurdity and disarray of his life.

Chapour Haghighat as born in Iran (1947, Garmsar), but has lived and worked for several years in France. Haghighat is not only a film maker, but also playwright and writer of short stories and novels. The Nightly Song of the Travellers is based on his own novel, written in French. The film was made with support from the Hubert Bals Fund.

Director Chapour Haghighat
Production Chapour Haghighat, Perspectives Nomades, Anne Ferron
Print Perspectives Nomades
Scenario Chapour Haghighat
Cast Engin Günay, Kuzey Özdogan, Ülkü Ülker, Süleyman Özbek, Mehman Yildirim, Lokman Osmangil, Cemaleddin Güven
Camera Shahriar Assadi
Editor Sophie Brunet
Sound Mohammed Mokthari, Javid Khoshdel
Length 85 minutes
Year of production 2006

6 May, 6.30pm; Cine Lumiere, 7 GBP (5 GBP cons.)
7 May, 5.30pm; Ritzy Cinema, 7.75 GBP (6.50 GBP cons.)
8 May, 7.30pm; Greenwich Playhouse, 5 GBP