THE DOGS DIDN’T SLEEP LAST NIGHT
The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night
(Sag-ha Dishab Na-khabidand)
Written & Directed by: Ramin Rasouli
Producer: Siyavash Haghighi
DoP: Mohammad Hossein Hajizadeh Saffar
Editor: Bahareh Baiedi Mashhadi Nezhad
Production & Costume Designer: Behzad Jafari Tadi
Music: Shekib Mosadegh
Sound Designer: Mohammad Mehdi Javaherizadeh
Sound Manager: Ali Zolfaghari
Make-up: Hashem Faghani
Visual Effects: Ali Reza Badameh
Cast: Atefe Amini (Teacher), Negin Parsa (American Soldier), Amir Hossein Sadeghi (Masoud), Fatemeh Khodadad (Soraya), Fahim Ebrahimi (Jalal), Abdol Hakim Vafa (Mayor), Tomaj Danesh Behzad (Doctor).
2020, Afghanistan/The Netherlands/Iran, Arii Alexa Mini, DCP, Color, 1:2.39, 5.1, 91 mins.
Languages: Dari, English
Logline:
For all the wounds that are still bleeding…
Synopsis:
In a remote area in Afghanistan, stories of the lives of a young shepherdess, a birdcatcher boy and a mourning teacher are intertwined after their school is burnt down. The young shepherdess takes the risk of saving a woman US soldier after a helicopter crash; the birdcatcher boy takes shelter in a tank with the birds, the pin-ups and the illegal music that he loves; and the mourning teacher seeks vengeance on the one who has widowed her…
Director’s View:
Heinrich Boll once wrote, “I knew then that the war would never be over, never, as long as somewhere a wound it had inflicted was still bleeding.” And I can feel it in every beat within my heart.
Director’s Profile:
Born in 1978 in Herat, Afghanistan, Ramin Rasouli started his film career in Iran and now resides in the Netherlands. His interest in cinema led him to start writing at the age of fourteen, and at the age of 16, he made his first 8mm film. He has made 10 short films and two feature films. His debut feature film, LINA, entered in the festival circuit in 2017. The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night is his second feature film.
Feature Films: 2017- LINA; 2020- THE DOGS DIDN’T SLEEP LAST NIGHT.
Festivals and Awards:
1- International Film Festival of India – Goa (India / January 2021).
- International Competition.
2- Chennai International Film Festival (India / Feb. 2021).
3- Fajr International Film Festival (Iran / May 2021).
- Eastern Vista Competition.
- Interfaith Prize Winner.
4- Wales International Film Festival (September.2021 – UK).
- Finalist – Best Foreign Language Film Category.
5- Kazan International Muslim Film Festival (September.2021 – Russia).
- Russia – Islamic World Program.
6- Barcelona Asian Film Festival (October.2021 – Spain).
- Discoveries Section.
7- Sao Paulo International Film Festival (October.2021 – Brazil).
- New Filmmakers Competition.
8- Carthage International Film Festival (October.2021 – Tunisia).
- World Cinema Section.
9- Popoli e Religioni – Terni Film Festival (November.2021 – Italy).
- Competition Section.
10- Bastau International Film Festival (November.2021 – Kazakhstan).
- Special Afghan Programme.
11- Golden Jury International Film Festival (December.2021 – India).
- The Best Foreign Language Film Award Category.
12- International Guwahati Film Festival (February.2022 – India).
13- Afghan Film Cycle in Barcelona – Casa Asia Special Program (April.2022 – Spain).
14- Nederlands Film Festival (September.2022 / The Netherlands).
15- Sama International Film Festival (October.2022 / Sweden).
- Best Film Award Winner in Films from Afghanistan section.
16- Hanoi International Film Festival (November.2022 / Vietnam).
- Panorama.
17- Universal Film Festival – New York (November.2022 / USA).
- Best Drama Award Category.
- Best Director Award.
- Best Picture Nominee.
- Best Actress Nominee.
18- Mostra Cinebaix de Cinema de la Mediterrània i del Llevant (November.2022 / Spain).
19- Ekurhuleni International Film Festival (November.2022 / South Africa).
- Finalist.
20- “Flowers against Bullets” Film Festival (March.2023 / Austria).
- Nominations for Red Cross Award, Best Feature Film and Best Director.
External Links:
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