Donya Kamali

In a part of middle east in eastern and northern Kurdistan live a group of people who have their own religion, perform their prayers and worship god with the use of the Tanbur. The Tanbur is an old musical instrument that has its own special ritual of crafting. Yar is a documentary about the process of crafting the Tanbur and how it is used for religious ritual of the Yarsans.

When an Iranian-Canadian filmmaker hears the story of Master Ghadamyar- a Kurdish 120-year-old Tanbur player, he takes off on a mission to discover more about this spiritual master's musical and enchanting life. The film follows his journey to Western Iran, where he unearths the ancient traditions and teachings of Ghadamyar's faith known as Yarsanism, and its relationship to the mysterious Tanbur as a meditative instrument. The film takes audiences on a musical and visual quest among rugged landscapes of Western Iran to experience undiscovered voices and spiritual awakening. We witness the collective prayer of Yarsani Tanburists, as a practice to maintain their spiritual identity and search for inner beauty.