Kurdish brothers Wrya and Dana Ahmed, both first-time performers, bring warmth and spontaneous charm to Halkawt Mustafa's heartfelt road movie. Alan (Wrya) runs a teahouse in his Kurdish town and has his heart set on marrying the lovely Gona (Rozhin Sharifi). But Gona's father-a huge fan of soccer team Real Madrid-does not approve of Alan: he and his brother are both little people. Determined to win over the taciturn old man, Alan enlists his brother Shirwan (Dana) in a crazy plan: together they will drive to Madrid and deliver a pair of handmade Kurdish soccer boots to Real Madrid's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Hopping on a quad bike, they set off...

Sweet and funny and full of the kind of day-to-day detail of life in contemporary Iraq that we rarely get to see on screen, Mustafa's comedy is not without a social conscience: organ trafficking is one sidebar theme. The tone overall, however, is light and rooted in the brothers' undying optimism, making El Clásico (the term refers to the name given to matches between Real Madrid and rival Barcelona) a winner.

Halkawt Mustafa – Director (January 13 & 15 only)