THESE BIRDS WALK

"Heartwrenching … a breathtaking piece of work." - Criterion Cast

In Karachi, Pakistan, 10-year-old runaway Omar grapples with the question of home: is it on the streets, at an orphanage or with the family he fled? Deeply moving but unsentimental, These Birds Walk intertwines the stories of Omar and his friends with those of the adults tasked with saving these children from the streets, their families and themselves.

A pristine cinema vérité documentary that unfolds like a narrative feature, Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq's haunting and awe-inspiring film captures its subjects, and the overwhelming bustle of Karachi, with remarkable openness and an extraordinary visual style. Resisting the temptation to reduce the boys to political symbols, the filmmakers simply let the children's wisdom, resilience and vitality shine in what is, ultimately, a reverent contemplation on the meaning of home.

"Mullick and Tariq capture these youth with a vivid power that immediately recalls Truffaut's 400 Blows." - PBS

D Omar Mullick, Bassam Tariq P Omar Mullick, Bassam Tariq, Valentina Canavesio, Sonejuhi Sinha WS Paperbag Rider Films, LLC L Urdu w/English subtitles TD DCP/2013