The Runner

Story

Amiro, a 13-year old war orphan, is fighting for survival in an Iranian port. He searches scrapyards for things to sell, collects empty bottles and sells iced water. What little he earns he spends on old magazines with aircraft on the cover. He can only look at them and dream, for he has never learned to read. It becomes increasingly clear that his life will only change if he learns to read and write. The Runner was the first Iranian film to be seen abroad after the Islamic revolution, and shows with remarkable candour the old opposites of rich and poor in the new Islamic state.

Director

Amir Naderi (*1946) was an important director of post-revolutionary Iranian cinema which profited greatly from the international success of The Runner. In 1986 he emigrated to the USA. His last film Cut (2011) was made entirely in Japanese.