Turtles Can Fly

Set in a Kurdish refugee camp near the borders of Iraq, Turkey and Iran, Turtles Can Fly follows a group of children scraping by on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq. Led by a resourceful boy nicknamed Satellite, who speaks a little English and is the only one around able to install the satellite dishes that bring news of the coming war, the children make their living collecting and selling landmines. Their world is unsettled by the arrival of three newcomers: a girl named Agrin, her armless brother Hengov, and a small child in their care. Satellite is drawn to Agrin, and the tension between the two groups of children plays out against the approaching conflict.

Directed and written by Bahman Ghobadi, who also produced alongside Batin Ghobadi and Hamid Ghavami, the film stars Soran Ebrahim as Satellite, Avaz Latif as Agrin, Hiresh Feysal Rahman as Hengov, Saddam Hossein Feysal, Abdol Rahman Karim and Ajil Zibari. It was shot in Kurdish and released in 2004, a production involving Iraq, Iran and France.

Turtles Can Fly was Ghobadi's first feature, ahead of Trees are Watching in 2026. It grossed around 1 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 8/10 from 22,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.8/10 from 250 votes, while critics gave it 7.8/10 across 71 reviews, a reception broadly in line with its audiences.