The Abadanis

The Abadanis is a 1992 Iranian drama written and directed by Kyanoush Ayari, regarded as one of the most acclaimed works of his career. It is a direct, localized adaptation of Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves, a debt acknowledged in the film's opening titles. The story follows a war-displaced man living in Tehran whose car is stolen. Together with his young son, he begins a desperate search across the city for the vehicle, his only real possession, and along the way he encounters a stranger who becomes involved in his plight. Belonging to Iran's Sacred Defence cinema, which deals with the Iran-Iraq War, the film stars Saeed Poursamimi, Hassan Rezaei and Saeed Sheikhzadeh. It won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival and received a nomination at the Nantes Three Continents Festival in 1994.