Before Snowfall
“Before Snowfall” screens at 8:30 p.m., Sunday, May 26, at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 400 S. Second St., in downtown Renton. Tickets are available at online at siff.net.
Here’s the film’s description from the Seattle International Film Festival.
At the beginning of this unconventional road movie, a 16-year-old boy is wrapped in plastic and lowered into a tank truck full of crude oil so he can be smuggled across an international border. Then things start getting truly difficult for Siyar (Taher Abdullah Taher), a Kurdish Iraqi who embarks on a perilous journey west through Europe. Following the death of his father, Siyar becomes the eldest man in his family. As tradition dictates, he is therefore responsible when his older sister, Nermin (Bahar Ozen), runs from an arranged wedding and flees to Turkey. As Siyar pursues her, with an intention to kill her for her transgression, he meets a teenaged girl named Evin (Suzan Ilir). Initially Evin tries to rob Siyar, but the two itinerant souls develop a gradual friendship and she decides to tag along, unaware of Siyar’s true motives. Director Hisham Zaman, who has been a hit on the short film festival circuit, enters into feature territory in this dazzling drama about the shifting definitions of family, love, and honor. Shooting in four different countries, Zaman includes stunning visuals to illustrate the pair’s travels from the tradition-bound culture of Northern Iraq to the freewheeling West. His decision to use mostly non-professional actors only heightens the reality of Siyar’s predicament. As he nears his destination, Siyar must grapple with his own identity and the lengths he will go to protect his honor. Director: Hisham Zaman. Cast: Taher Abdullah Taher, Suzan Llir, Bahar Ozen. Norway/Germany 2012. (105 minutes)
