Sun Children – World Cinema on Hollywood Suite

At Hollywood Suite we’ve always had a mandate to bring our audiences classic films, but in recent years we’ve noticed that with the increasing complexity of the streaming and broadcast world, many great foreign films are left without a home. So, we’ve decided to do something about it. In addition to our classic films and exciting new Canadian premieres, we will from time-to-time, be proud hosts to exclusive broadcast premieres of world cinema selections. All this kicks off with director Majid Majidi’s award-winning 2020 film Sun Children.

The film is an exciting caper following a group of child labourers in Tehran, led by Roohollah Zamani’s fiercely loyal Ali, who are scraping by with a number of grifts and minor criminal schemes until they run afoul of a larger crook. He offers Ali amnesty and a home for his ailing mother if they’ll retrieve a treasure for him, one that is only accessible via the basement of a school for orphans. Ali and his crew enrol in the school but find the heist has higher stakes than expected and are torn between the life they know and the kindness of the optimistic Vice-Principal who sees their potential. At once a social drama and thrilling heist film, this movie manages to walk the tightrope between melodrama and action and it’s immediately obvious how the fascinating work of Roohollah Zamani took home the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Actor at the 2020 Venice Film Festival.

Canadian audiences are likely most familiar with director Majid Majidi for having the first Iranian film to be nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar with the international sensation Children of Heaven. That was his first film and since then he has continued to tell his stories often from the perspective of children and frequently with an eye to those on the margins of society, including a particular interest in Afghan refugees in Iran. What sets Majidi apart from other well-known Iranian directors in the west is he is one of the few internationally known directors still living and working in Iran. While others have fled the notorious censorship of the government or faced arrest for their work, Majidi has found a way to weave his social message with a subtlety rulers seem to accept. Critics see Majidi’s films as less revolutionary than his contemporaries and more after popcorn audiences, but watching something like Sun Children it’s hard to not see a man still critical of the society around him, if not directly critical of the government that may create those conditions. Like Hollywood filmmakers working under the Hays Code, Majid Majidi has found a way to both criticize and still please the government enough they consistently choose his films as their Oscar submission.

All that is to say we’re delighted to bring you the latest great work from a unique filmmaking voice. We hope you’ll enjoy Sun Children and, if you do, help spread the word about this uncommon film to those who might enjoy a story you won’t find in Hollywood.

Find the next play times for Sun Children (2020) on Hollywood Suite.