The Swallows of Kabul

Summer, 1998. Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, is ruled by the Taliban. The love of a young couple flourishes—indoors and out of sight. Although the streets are rife with violence and suffering, they do not lose hope for a better future. However, an unforeseen accident causes their lives to take an irreversible turn. Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mevellec employed a special watercolor technique to create this mesmerizing animated film. This is an emotionally resonant adaptation of Algerian novelist Yasmina Khadra’s novel (2002) for which animation seems the most effective way to bring this despondent tale to the silver screen. The film debuted in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and went on to become a prize winner at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.