The Breadwinner
From Ireland's Cartoon Saloon comes a hand-drawn gem, based on the 2000 children's novel by Canada's Deborah Ellis. In the Taliban-ruled Kabul, women are second-class citizens, forbidden to walk around unescorted, let alone get a job. That's a problem for a family when its story-telling patriarch is unjustly thrown in jail.
Saving the day is 11-year-old Parvana, who cuts her hair and poses as a boy to provide for her mother and siblings. The 93-minute feature (with actress Angelina Jolie on board as an executive producer) is about loyalty, perseverance and the power of imagination.
Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna provide the music. The picture sings and inspires.
Brad Wheeler