Producing Half Moon as part of a series of films commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, Ghobadi drew inspiration for this film from the composer’s Requiem Mass. Accordingly, the film is full of eschatological concerns: there is imagery of death, yet also of rebirth. In fact, it is a rebirth of sorts that the film’s main character struggles toward. The renowned Iranian musician Mamo has been banned from performing as part of Saddam Hussein’s suppression of Kurdish culture. In the wake of Hussein’s fall from power, Mamo assembles his ten sons, who are also his musicians, as well as the legendary singer Hesho. Together they embark on a road trip from Iranian Kurdistan to the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan to perform for the newly established Kurdistan Regional Government. As a female musician travelling with a group of men, Hesho must be smuggled across the border from Iran to Iraq where combat is not yet over. It is not just Momo’s career that is struggling to be reborn but Kurdish culture itself. While a major theme of Turtles Can Fly is the acquisition of a satellite dish, here the isolated Kurds have access to cell phones and e-mails. As a result, this isolated population seems to live in several worlds at once: a timeless one of tradition, a modern world of buses, roads and guns, and a contemporary world that brings the hope that this stateless people can communicate with each other and the societies beyond. – DP