Les hirondelles de Kaboul

Summer 1998 – Kabul lies in ruins and is ruled by the Taliban. Atiq and Mussarat have been married for many years, but hardly ever speak to each other. She suffers from an incurable disease and is dying, while he struggles with a job he detests as a guard in a women’s prison. A few houses away live the artist Zunaira and the teacher Mohsen. Despite the daily violence, they remain full of hope for a better future. Zunaira is forced to spend most of her days at home, painting and listening to music, both of which she has to do in secret, because the Taliban have banned art and music – their rules and regulations pervade even the smallest details of people’s private lives. Meanwhile, Mohsen wanders through the city and frequently finds himself at the ruins of the university he used to attend. While there, he meets a former professor who offers him and Zunaira a teaching position. Before they can accept the offer, however, an unpredictable event changes their lives and brings the four different characters of the two couples together in ways never before imagined.
“Les hirondelles de Kaboul” is based on the novel of the same name by Yasmina Khadra. With simple drawings, in some instances reminiscent of watercolours, the directors Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec succeed in depicting tragic yet comical scenes from extraordinary perspectives. Whereas Zabou Breitman has made a name for herself as an actress and feature film director in France, Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec has made several short films (“Madame”, 2005 and the joint project “Traintamarre”, 2006) during her animation studies in Paris and has worked as an animator for various feature films. “Les hirondelles de Kaboul” was selected for screening at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.