Majid Jafari

On 5 June four hijackers, three men and a woman, hijack an Iranian passenger aircraft. Their commander is a person named Fariborz Atabaki [Nasser Aghayi]. Two of the passengers, one of whom later turns out to be an officer, disarm the hijackers; to the astonishment of the passengers they guide the aircraft to the same European destination the hijackers had intended. The original planners of the hijack hold a press conference at the destination. They say all the passengers are seeking asylum and ask the officer to tell the journalists his views. He says his reason for bringing the aircraft here is to show the world the passengers have no interest in political or social asylum; they all want to return to Iran.

A rural schoolteacher boards a night train—the same one that passes by their school every morning. He has made up his mind to speak with the passengers, to ask them for a simple favor: to respond to his students, who stand by the tracks every morning, eagerly waving at the train. The children’s excitement is met with silence day after day, and the teacher hopes that, just for a moment, someone might wave back—and acknowledge their innocent longing with a simple gesture.