18.12.25, 20:30, Window Horses (2016)

Inspired by the Persian tradition of Yaldā, KASKcinema celebrates the shortening of the nights and the lengthening of the days for the fifth year in a row with Kuleshov, Urgent.fm's film programme. For the first time, we are honouring the transition from darkness to light with an animated film: the award-winning but unreleased Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming. However, we are doing so in the traditional manner, with tea, pastries and Persian poetry.

Call it poetic coincidence, because just like the film Universal Language (2024) on the previous Yaldā Night, Window Horses creates an unlikely enriching connection between Iran and... Canada? The main character, Rosie Ming, is an orphan of Chinese-Persian descent who lives with her grandparents in Vancouver. Unexpectedly, as a young poet, she is invited to an international poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, the poetry capital of the land of poets. During her journey, Rosie learns about the fate of her parents, finding her own (poetic) voice through the beauty of grief, and how to understand each other without speaking the same language. A wonderful culture shock that sparkles with love for family, history, music, and poetry. Independent animator and visual artist Ann Marie Fleming is herself of mixed heritage and sees Window Horses as a modest attempt to add a little more understanding to an increasingly complex, conflicted world.

The screening will be followed by a performance by Ehsan Yadollahi.