The Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon animation studio (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea) returns with another Oscar-nominated triumph; directed by Nora Twomey – co-director of Kells – The Breadwinner is a beautifully realised ode to resilience under oppression and the imaginative power of storytelling.

Adapted from Deborah Ellis’s best-selling novel, the film tells the story of Parvana, a young girl living in Kabul, Afghanistan, under the control of the Taliban.

In this restrictive régime women are not permitted to leave the house unescorted, to earn money or shop in the market. When Parvana’s father is imprisoned under suspicious circumstances, she is forced to disguise herself as a boy to become the family’s sole breadwinner, whilst trying desperately to free her beloved father.

Notes by David O’Mahony

Classification: 15A

There is also an Irish-language dubbed version of this film, titled An Saothraí.
Awards and Nominations