The Breadwinner

Nora Twomey, co-director of The Secret of Kells with Tomm Moore, strikes out solo in The Breadwinner.

When the Taliban arrests her father, 11-year- old Afghani Parvana cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy in order to support her family. Working alongside her friend Shauzia, Parvana discovers a new world of freedom–and danger. Drawing courage from the fantastical stories she invents, Parvana goes on a quest to find her father and reunite her family.

“Parvana’s embrace of familial duty is narrated concurrently with a story she tells to her infant brother, about a young boy who vows to reclaim his village’s stolen crop seeds from the Elephant King and his demonic minions in the Hindu Kush mountain range. If there’s a link that ties The Breadwinner to Moore’s films, besides appreciation for fables, it’s artistry: Like The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner is absolutely gorgeous, a cel-shaded stunner that blends animation’s most traditional form with interspersed cut out animation. The result mixes the fluid intangibility of the former with the tactile quality of the latter, layering the film’s visual scheme with color and texture.” (Paste)

Film website: gkids.com/films/the-breadwinner/