De witte ballon keert na 5 jaar Europa terug naar haar moederland Iran om er haar oude vrienden uit te nodigen om in haar film mee te spelen. Hopend op een spontane samenwerking in moeilijke tijden vraagt ze hen om een bepaalde omkoopscene opnieuw te spelen. Tot haar verrassing reageren haar vrienden niet happig en beschuldigen er haar van mee te heulen met de Europese stereotypering. Uiteindelijk raakt de gefrustreerde witte ballon in een gevecht met haar beste vriend Ayan verwikkeld.
Official website: vidadena.com
Credits:
Camera operator: Vida Dena, Milad, Arash
Sound recording: Milad
Cast: Golnar, Siavash, Pooyan, Farhad, Emad, Mehrnaz, Ayan, Arghavan
Musicians: Emad (Setar), Meisam (Kamancheh), Ali (Guitar), Pooyan (Dayereh)
Music: "Morq-e sahar" written by Morteza Neydavoud & Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, "Na-mehrabooni" by Elaheh, "Rubaiyat" by Farhad Mehrad
Singers: Golnar, Mona, Mehrnaz, Saghar, Shirin, Elnaz, Vida, Emad
Music arranger: Emad
Mentors: Elias Grootaers, Martine Huvenne
Photography: Pooyan
Sound mixing: Michel Coquette
Editing: Vida Dena, Dieter Diependaele
Assistance: Mona, Amir, Ardavan, Ayan, Mostafa, Arman, Pooyan, Morvarid
Technical assistant: Henk Vandekerkhove, Eric De Vos
Translation and text editing: Tessa Poncelet, Aurelien Berthier, Lorent Corbeel, Michael Paull, Atousa, Holliday
Special thanks to: Elias Grootaers, Martine Huvenne, Dieter Diependaele, Hilde D'haeyere, Ahmad, Mehrin, Amoo Parviz, Mona, Emad, Azarakhsh, Farokh, Bahareh, Golnar, Amir, Gail Rego
Ending music: Rubaiyat by Farhad Mehrad
"Though not endowed with the knowledge of my own fate,
observing the field of flowers is not wasted on me!
As a margin mark of exclamation,
I am not without work though I have no work."
The white balloon returns to her home country, Iran, after 5 years of living in Europe, to ask her old friends to play in her film. Looking for spontaneous collaborations in troublesome times, she asks them to replay scenes of bribery. To her surprise her friends are reluctant to help her, blaming her for going along with European stereotypes. Frustrated of having to insist, the white balloon gets into a fight with her best friend Ayan.