2016 MVIFF — THE PRESIDENT

Georgia | 2016 | 118 mins | Rated PG-13 | Comedy
Directed by MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF

Friday September 09, 2016

Martha's Vineyard Film Center
$12 General Admission, $9 Member,
$7 child age 14 or younger
Doors Open for admissions 30 min. prior to screening
Buy tickets at Film Center or online now BUY TICKETS

Directed by MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF

A brutal dictator comes face to face with the injustices committed by his regime when his country is taken over by revolutionists.

The President and his family rule their land with an iron fist, enjoying lives of luxury and leisure at the expense of their population’s misery. When a coup d’état overthrows his brutal rule and the rest of his family flees the country, the President is suddenly left to care for his young grandson and forced to escape. Now the country’s most wanted fugitive with a bounty on his head, The President begins a perilous journey with the boy, crossing the country to reach the sea where a ship waits to bring them to safety. Posing as street musicians and traveling together with the people who suffered for years under the dictatorship, the fallen President and the innocent child will be exposed first hand to the hardships that inspired unanimous hatred for the regime.

“Makhmalbaf makes you feel the enormity of the President's loss of self even if you don't actually feel for him.” Michael Nordine, The Village Voice

“Although Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf says "The President" was inspired by the turbulent events of the Arab Spring, there's also a timeless quality to this absorbing and powerful fable that provides added resonance.” Gary Goldstein, LA Times

Won Best Feature 2014 Chicago International Film Festival