Presented with immediacy, in real-time, The White Balloon begins in the evocative setting of a downtown market in Tehran on the cusp of New Year celebrations. We follow the young, inquisitive Razieh (Aida Mohammadkhani), who sets out to buy a coveted goldfish. However, upon losing the money given to her to buy it, she, along with her supportive older brother Ali (Mohsen Kalifi), must venture into the streets, in a transformative coming-of-age journey to change her fortune.
The feature directorial debut of Jafar Panahi, this emotionally stunning collaboration with writer Abbas Kiarostami (himself a director, responsible for Taste of Cherry and the Koker trilogy), was the recipient of the revered Prix de la Camera d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.