In the aftermath of a 1990 earthquake, Kiarostami returned to the village of Koker where his camera surveys not only the devastation but the life that continues in its wake. Blending fiction and reality into a playful, poignant road movie, And Life Goes On follows a film director who, along with his son, makes the difficult trek to the region in hopes of finding out if the young star of his movie Where is the Friend’s House? is among the survivors. Finding beauty in the bleakest of circumstances, Kiarostami crafts a quietly majestic ode to the best of the human spirit.

Notes by David O’Mahony