The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner (2017) is an animated drama from Ireland's Cartoon Saloon you can watch online on iFILM. It unfolds in Taliban-ruled Kabul, where eleven-year-old Parvana becomes the only thing standing between her family and starvation.

After her father is hauled off to prison, the women of the house are forbidden to step outside without a man. So Parvana cuts her hair short and passes as a boy to buy food and earn a few coins. She works the market, reads letters for money, and saves toward freeing her father, while at night she spins her little brother a tale of a boy facing down the Elephant King. Saara Chaudry voices her.

Director Nora Twomey adapted Deborah Ellis's novel, weaving hand-drawn animation together with cut-paper sequences for the fable Parvana tells. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. It's heavy material handled with hope rather than despair — built for viewers ready for a grown-up conversation in a kid-friendly form. Stream The Breadwinner (2017) online on iFILM.