One of the timeliest and most incisive films to screen at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, BARAN, the latest film from Iranian master Majid Majidi (COLOUR OF PARADISE, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN), focuses on the plight of Afghan refugees working against enormous odds to make a life for themselves in neighbouring Iran.

Latif, a cocky 17-year-old Iranian boy, has a cushy job on a construction site where most of the back-breaking labour is shouldered by a team of Afghani refugees who work illegally, earning pennies and routinely hiding from government inspectors. When Rahmet, a young Afghan boy, is given Latif's job and the Iranian teen is shifted from serving tea to hauling cement, he is initially enraged. But the discovery that Rahmet is actually a young girl named Baran, disguised to work as the sole breadwinner for her stricken family, serves as an epiphany for Latif.

Inspired by his newfound love and his desire to protect and honour the girl, Latif experiences a moral transformation, maturing from a self-absorbed adolescent into a noble, self-sacrificing man. His humanism begins to shine through in powerful ways, forever changing his life and the destiny of those around him.

One of the most visually accomplished Iranian directors, Majidi's evocative lyricism and touching spirituality have contributed significantly to Iranian cinema's reputation as one of the richest national cinemas in the world. Named Iran's official submission for this year's Best Foreign Language Oscar, BARAN has been heralded at festivals around the world, including the Montreal Film Festival, where it became the third Majidi film in a row to win the Grand Prize of the Americas. An expertly crafted human drama, featuring a fine cast of touching, exquisitely-drawn characters, BARAN is a powerfully moving and profound film distinguished by moments of great visual poetry.

• Special Mention Jury Award - 2001 Montréal Film Festival
• Best Picture, Best Director - 2001 Tehran International Film Festival

"Exemplifies the power of cinema… The film plunges you into a reality that is, more often than not, difficult and sad, and then, without sentimentalizing it or denying its brutality, transforms that reality into a lyrical and celebratory vision." - A.O. Scott, New York Times