Two Iranian child performers revisit the journey they made two decades ago, when shortly after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, they traveled to refugee camps to perform theatre for Afghan children who had just survived the bombings. Through rare VHS archives of that trip and their present-day stage work in Iran, the film weaves a haunting reflection on war, art, and childhood. As the boundaries between memory, theatre, and history blur, the story becomes a meditation on how artists carry collective trauma while still creating moments of joy.
Original title: مسخره‌بازها
Production year: 2026
Country of origin: Iran
Length: 20 min
Genre: Documentary
Director: Parsa Ansari & Aref Heydari
Producer: Maria Robstad, Parsa Ansari & Aref Heydari
Co-Producer: Milad Khosravi & Thibaut Amri
Director of Photography: Aref Heydari
Editor: Parsa Ansari
Sound: Mani Jahannama
Music: Behnam Omran, Omid Eskandar
Postproducer: Jakob Schaumburg
Post/Grade: Rune Felix Holm