The Last Days of Winter

Seven Iranian boys are in a youth detention center in Tehran, in a special wing for detainees younger than 15 years old. They are there for various crimes, from drug possession to motorcycle or sheep theft. The living conditions are decent and the boys get along fine. They share bedrooms, play and eat together, and mediate when there's trouble in the group. They are isolated from their families and depend on each other, which is perhaps the reason that they seem to so readily accept the presence of the director. The camera is part of the group and the boys are very frank during the interviews. They talk about weighty subjects such as love, God, fears, and dreams. Young as they are, they already have complicated lives: most were either abandoned by their parents or addicted to drugs. They are all lonely. One of them says he doesn't always feel like joining in the activities; he has already suffered so much in his life and he's simply worn out. All the boys feel the need to behave in a mature way, even when they're still dealing with the emotions of the children that they are.