Kabuli Kid


Kabuli Kid is a Persian-language 2008 French-Afghan drama film directed and written by Barmak Akram. It stars Haji Gul Aser, Leena Alam, Valéry Schatz and Amélie Glenn. The film, about a Kabul-based taxi driver who finds an infant left in his back seat, was screened at the 65th Venice [International Film Festival] at the 23rd International Film Critics' Week and won EIUC Human Rights Film Award. Also, in the Simorghs of the East section - International Cinema Competition of the 27th Fajr International Film Festival, Barmak Akram received Best debut for his film Kabuli Kid. The film is produced by Fidélité Films, 4 à 4 Productions, and Les Auteurs Associés.

Cast

  • Haji Gul Aser as Khaled
  • Valéry Schatz as Mathieu
  • Amélie Glenn as Marie
  • Mohammad Chafi Sahel as Baba
  • Leena Alam as Khaled's wife
  • Messi Gul as the abandoned infant
  • Saleha Khan Gul
  • Rohina Gul
  • Mariam Hakimi

Reception

The film was critically acclaimed. Variety wrote: "Observation and narrative are so skillfully intertwined that every detail gestates a potential full-blown story and every story point teems with cultural contradictions. Thus, when Khaled’s wife Leena Alam slips among the veiled women waiting to claim the infant, she silently unleashes a subversively alternate point of view. Highly accomplished tech credits reinforce pic's authenticity."