TEHRAN – Oscar-nominated director Majid Majidi whose latest movie “The Sun” is about child labor has said that everybody is responsible for this issue.

Speaking during a press conference after the premiere of his movie at the 38th Fajr Film Festival in Tehran on Monday, Majidi pointed to those children who are making a living from peddling and noted, “They are zealous breadwinners for their families, who can be a positive role model for society.”

“Undoubtedly, officials have a duty to these children, but each one us also has a duty to them,” he said.

Some of Majidi’s cast members have been selected from the students of a special school for these children in the slums of Tehran.

The film also stars Ali Nasirian, Javad Ezzati and Tannaz Tabatabi.

Tabatabai makes a cameo appearance in the movie as the mother of one of the children, who is hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital.

Tabatabai said that she did not want to miss a chance for working with Majidi on this project and added that her sense of responsibility for the child labor issue also convinced her to collaborate in the movie.

“I suppose that my appearance in the film may help the serious problem of child labor be regarded in the country,” she added.

The press conference became very emotional when some of the children of the cast elaborated about the auditions they did for their parts in the movie.

Photo: Cast members Ruhollah Zamani, Abolfazl Shirzad and Shamila Shirzad, who are the students in a special school for child workers in Tehran, attend a press conference for “The Sun” during the 38th Fajr Film Festival at Mellat Cineplex on February 10, 2020. (Mehr/Majid Asgaripur)   

MMS/YA