Hit the Road - Expat Cinema

Somewhere in the countryside of Iran, a car stops along the motorway. Inside the car is a family: in the front sits a somewhat taciturn man behind the wheel, the eldest son of the woman sitting next to him, the mother who is clearly the centre of the family. In the back seat, there is the grumbling father, his leg in a cast, and the youngest son, a six-year-old, very busy boy. On the way, they talk, argue and above all, sing a lot. This is not just any old family outing; it is a farewell trip, as the older brother wants to leave the country of his birth.

This internationally very well received road movie is the feature debut of Iranian director Panah Panahi. He was brought up on the art of filmmaking because he is the son of the famous director Jafar Panahi (Taxi Tehran). But he is no clone of his father, given his very own and infectious mix of humour and drama that he displays in this film.