The Swallows of Kabul

by Zabou Breitman & Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec

Summer 1998 - Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.

  • ZABOU BREITMAN

    At four years old, Zabou played in one of the episodes of the TV show “Thierry la Fronde” alongside her father, Jean-Claude Deret. Zabou studied cinema, modern Greek, and English for her bachelor’s degree and attended the Simon course. She was an Animator at “Recré A2” in the 80s and made her film debut in 1982. Often playing more comedic roles (BANZAÏ, THE BEAUF, PROMOTION SOFA), it did not take long for her to distinguish herself. In the 90s, she worked with filmmakers like Diane Kurys (LA BAULE-LES-PINS, 1990), Coline Serreau (THE CRISIS, 1992), Philippe Lioret (CORRESPONDENCE REQUIRED, 1997) and Pierre Jolivet (MY SMALL COMPANY, 1999), or the Jaoui / Bacri tandem in KITCHEN AND DEPENDENCY in 1993.

    In 2001, she directed her first feature film, BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES, with Bernard Campan and Isabelle Carré. The film was awarded with 3 Césars including best first feature film. This was followed in 2006 with THE MAN OF MY LIFE and in 2009, JE L’AIMAIS. During this decade, Zabou Breitman acted in the films of Michel Deville (ALMOST PEACEFUL, 2002), Gilles Lellouche (NARCO, 2004) and Rémi Bezançon (THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, 2008).

    She acted under the direction of Pierre Schoeller, THE MINISTER with Olivier Gourmet and the PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK by Bruno Podalydes.

    In 2010 she directed her fourth feature film NO ET MOI, based on the novel by Delphine De Vigan. In 2017, she co-wrote and directed the TV series “Paris Etc.” for Canal Plus. At the same time, she has pusured a successful career as a theater director, notably with “Winter under the table” (Molière du Metteur en Scène 2003), Roland Topor, “Des Gens”, an adaptation of Molière’s work by Raymond Depardon and “La Compagnie des spectres” (2010) by Lydie Salvayre.

    Her show “logiquimperturbabledufou” is being performed at the Theater du Rond-Point.

    ELÉA GOBBE-MÉVELLEC

    After graduating in Applied Arts, Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec joined the Ecole des Gobelins in 2003. Her first two short films, MADAME (made during her studies in 2006 ) and ESCALE (2010) were selected at the Annecy.

    In addition to her work as a graphic designer on television sets and advertising for luxury brands, she also worked as an animator on short films like BANG BANG! by Julien Bisaro, nominated at the 2015 César Awards for the best animated film, and SMART MONKEY by Vincent Paronnaud (Winshluss) and Nicolas Pawlowski. Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec continued her career as a character animator for feature films such as ERNEST AND CÉLESTINE, THE RABBI’S CAT, THE DAY OF THE CROWS and APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD. In 2016, she collaborated as a cartoonist on the animated series ‘Lastman’, an adaptation of the comic strip created by Bastien Vivès, Balak and Michaël Sanlaville. THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL is her first feature film as Director.

  • Year: 2019

    Country: France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco

    Runtime: 81 min

    Color: Color

    Language: French

    Subtitles: English

    Sound: 5.1

  • Directors: Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec

    Script, Adaptation & Screenplay: Sébastien Tavel Patricia Mortagne Zabou Breitman

    Artistic Director: Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec

    Based on the Novel by Yasmina Khadra

    Published by Editions Julliard

    Music: Alexis Rault

    A Co-Production of LES ARMATEURS

    MELUSINE PRODUCTIONS

    CLOSE UP FILMS

    ARTE France Cinéma

    RTS Radio Télévision Suisse

    KNM

    Producers Reginald de Guillebon

    Stephan Roelants

    Michel Merkt

    Joëlle Bertossa

  • Cannes Film Festival
    São Paulo International Film Festival
    Chicago International Film Festival
    Goteborg Film Festival
    Mill Valley Film Festival
    Melbourne International Film Festival
    Thessaloniki Film Festival
    Helsinki International Film Festival
    Plam Springs International Film Festival

  • "As a medium, animation suits this adaptation well; it would have been nearly impossible to shoot as live fiction or on location.”

    —Variety

  • “Haunting, poetic, and quietly shattering.”

    — The Hollywood Reporter

  • “It is one of the best films I have seen this year, full stop. It's about whether to stay and fight or flee and be free, like a swallow."

    —The Australian