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Daf (Preview)

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Original Title: Tambourine

Released: June 15, 2003

Country: Iran

Director: Bahman Ghobadi

Language: Persian

Theme: Ethnicity & Cultural Identity

Genre: Documentary

Summary

This simple but affecting documentary portrays a rural craftsman who makes a traditional Iranian percussion instrument called a daf. All able-bodied family members participate in the production, including a blind son, whom we see hitching a ride to market with his sister to purchase the sheep skins and wood planks used in the instrument's manufacture. A doctor visits the father's younger 3-1/2 year-old son, who has also lost his eyesight, and offers this advice: "Pray to God. Give to charity. Have ceremonies and have a dervish play the daf for him." The greater part of the film focuses on the laborious work involved in the fabrication of daf and culminates in a rousing ritual for the ailing boy. The accomplished camerawork takes advantage of the surrounding scenery and local color. Sensitive individuals are warned of a brief but graphic segment of sheep being slaughtered. The image benefits from a solid transfer, with brilliant color and clarity.
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