The Runner

1984 Drama 94 minutes Directed by Amir Naderi

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About The Runner

Amiro, an orphan played by Majid Niroumand, lives alone in a stranded tanker at Abadan. He shines shoes, sells water, and picks up bottles. Older boys and the adults crowd him out. He watches the ships and the planes leave, and he runs.

Cast & crew

More about The Runner

Amir Naderi directed, from his own boyhood. Behruz Gharibpur shared the writing. Firooz Malekzadeh photographed. Alireza Zarrindast produced. Released February 15, 1984. The Persian title is دونده (Davandeh). The listed length is 94 minutes. Musa Torkizadeh and Abbas Nazeri are billed.

Themes

  • An orphan in a dead ship
  • Bottles, shoes, and water
  • Running against the older boys
  • Amiro
  • Abadan
  • tanker
  • Naderi
  • Majid Niroumand

Look

Firooz Malekzadeh shot the port, the tanker, and the races on the flats.

Preservation

A print survives.

Notes

  • The tanker is his house, not a set piece he visits.
  • The running is how he answers the older boys.
  • The article calls it one of the first post-revolutionary Iranian films shown and praised abroad.
  • Niroumand carries the picture.

Scenes

  • He sleeps in the tanker and watches the ships leave.
  • He runs until the other boys drop off.