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The Gardener

The Gardener | Bāghbān | باغبان

English, PersianDocumentary 87 min 2012

An Iranian filmmaker and his son travel to Haifa, Israel, to explore the Bahá’í religion. Shot in a documentary-inflected, sometimes surreal style through the cameras of both father and son, the film observes the Bahá’í gardens and the international volunteers who come to tend them, emphasizing how service, landscape, and daily encounters can cultivate a language of peace. Along the way, a sustained disagreement opens between the two: the father wonders whether a more peace-oriented religious ethos might have altered Iran’s political trajectory, while the son insists that religions ultimately tend toward violence and destruction. Their conflict deepens to the point that they separate and continue the journey on different paths.

Director
Mohsen Makhmalbāf
Writer
Mohsen Makhmalbāf
Cinematography
Meysam Makhmalbāf
Editor
Meysam Makhmalbāf
Music
Paul Collier
Sālār Ṣamadī
Production Company
Makhmalbaf Film House

Cast
Bal Kumari Gurung, Guillaume Nyagatare, Ian David Huang, Meysam Makhmalbāf, Mohsen Makhmalbāf, Paula Asadi, Ririva Eona Mabi