The Runner (Davandeh)
Virtual Q&A with actor Madjid Niroumand follows the film
Often lauded as the first movie to emerge from postrevolutionary Iran—and for having one of the best child performances of all time—Amir Naderi’s masterpiece The Runner is presented in a digital restoration. Amiro (Madjid Niroumand), an illiterate 11-year-old orphan living alone in an abandoned tanker in the Iranian port city of Abadan, survives by shining shoes, selling water, and diving for deposit bottles, while being bullied by both adults and competing older kids. He finds solace in dreaming about departing cargo ships and airplanes, and in running.
Visiting Guidelines Masks are recommended in Museum auditoriums. Advance tickets are also recommended. In the interest of your personal safety and community health, please observe all precautions set forth by the MFAH—learn more here. Doors open 30 minutes before the screening starts. No late entry.
Accessibility The MFAH strives to provide a welcoming and accessible experience for all guests by offering a range of accommodations—learn more here.
Generous support is provided by the ILEX Foundation.
Special thanks to community partners Society of Iranian American Women for Education and Iranian Cultural Foundation-Houston.
The Runner (Davandeh)
Directed by Amir Naderi
(Iran, 1984, 94 minutes, in Persian with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater