Half Moon
(Unrated, 114 Min., Kurdish, Drama)
March 16 & 17 at 7:00

Mamo, an iconic Kurdish musician in the twilight of his life and in failing health, must lead a dozen of his sons to Iraq for a concert to celebrate the fall of Saddam Hussein and the end of his repression of Kurdish music. Their plan is to drive across the border, but the road will be long and winding and the local wise man has predicted calamity. But first they must pick up Hesho, Mamo’s exiled singer and muse. The “celestial voice” she represents takes on a divine, transformative power, and Mamo is left in a state of grace no one could ever have anticipated.

The Kurds may not yet have a country, but as long as Bahman Ghobadi keeps making movies they have a national cinema. – Ty Burr, Boston Globe

For his poetic fourth feature, Half Moon, Bahman Ghobadi returns to the desolation of the Kurdish borderlands and the enduring optimism of his people. – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

Death blurs the frontier between reality and dream, though never dimming the pic’s startling beauty, raucous humor or indomitable ethos. – Ronnie Scheib, Variety