24.7. THURSDAY 19:00 RIJEKA, ART-KINO CROATIA* * screening at a non-festival location CLICK & BUY TICKETS

The White Balloon, Jafar Panahi’s first feature film based on the screenplay by Abbas Kiarostami, follows seven-year-old Razieh (Aida Mohammadkhani) across the bustling streets of Tehran. After convincing her mother to give her money to buy a goldfish for New Year’s, a traditional symbol of life in Iranian culture, she sets off to the market alone. Excited about her first solo outing without her parents, Razieh savours the world around her. But when she loses the money, her journey takes an unexpected turn. The film celebrates childhood innocence, small desires, and human kindness. It won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 1995 and has become a classic of the Iranian New Wave and a beloved family film.