Iranian Films for Peace: A Series of Shorts produced by Bahman Ghobadi
Towards the end of 2007, when our fears of a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran were at their peak, Make Films Not War resolved to use images and stories to continue building a cultural bride between our two societies, even as our governments ratcheted up their language of war.
We made contact with award-winning Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi (HALF MOON, TURTLES CAN FLY, A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES), and discussed how best to go about this. We decided to commission five up-and-coming Iranian filmmakers, two of them as young as 10 and 13, to produce a series of short videos on the themes of war and peace. Ghobadi's company, Tehran based MIJ Productions, co-produced.
We hope you enjoy these Video Postcards from Iran, and we encourage you to share them with your friends and family. As the political drama unfolds, and the threat of conflict remains all too real, Make Films Not War believes that we need more cultural exchange and more cross-cultural understanding to offset the efforts of those who would put us on a path to war.
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On That Day
About the Filmmaker:
Babak Amini, 29, was born in Iranian Kurdistan, and graduated with a major in philosophy from Tehran University. Amini has worked for many years as an Assistant Director with Bahman Ghobadi, including work on A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES and TURTLES CAN FLY.
About ‘On That Day’
This spare film tells the story of a young Iraqi exile living in Iran, following her as she travels to Iraq to testify about Saddam's crimes against her family. The landscape is windswept and unforgiving, and her only companion is a lonely border guard, who is curious about why she wants to enter Iraq, wracked as it is by terrorist violence and the U.S. occupation. A minimalist but affecting musical score adds to the scene, as does the expansive countryside, all building up to a surprising end.
Director:
Babak Amini
Screenwriter:
Babak Amini
Cast: Iraqi
Woman- Golnar Fallahian, Border Patrol- Behnam Amini
Director of Photography:
Meisam Riahi
Edited by:
Hamid Reza Ghorbani
Sound Recorder:
Vahid Hajilooi
Sound Designer:
Meisam Riahi
Assistant Director:
Rana Fallahian
Camera Assistant:
Shaho Shahbazian
Sound Assistant:
Shahram Ahmadian
Set Photographer:
Sonya Khateri
Subtitles:
Shabnam Mojtahedi
Production Team:
Mohammad Khateri,
Javad Ghobadi,
Mohammad Rostami
The Piggy Bank That I Found…
About the Filmmaker:
Arsham Naghshbandi is 13 years old. He goes to school and is a top student in English. He plays guitar and he loves music. He has shot 14 short films with his digital camera. Arsham lives in Sanandaj, Iran.
About ‘The Piggybank That I Found…’
This piece by a young filmmaker is a poignant meditation on the impact of war and weaponry on youth. A young boy finds an unexpected prize while shaking apples out of a tree to the pond below. He rallies a friend to help him pry open the shiny blue object, which both think might hold buried treasure.
Director:
Arsham Naghshbandi
Cast:
Rosegar Najafi,
Taymur Maghsudi,
Sahand Maghsudi
Cameraman:
Hamid Ghavami
Edited by:
Hamid Reza Ghorbani
Sound:
Kavoos Aghaie
Subtitles:
Shabnam Mojtahedi
Runaway
About the Filmmaker:
Hamid Ghavami has worked as a journalist and photographer in Iran, and his work has been shown at 10 exhibitions throughout the country. Ghavami was cinematographer on Bahman Ghobadi’s short film WAR IS OVER?!, and worked on the production of HALF MOON. Over the span of his career, Ghavami has worked as the cinematographer on over 100 feature, short, and documentary films. Ghavami lives in Tehran.
About ‘Runaway’
This experimental film follows a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war as he revisits scenes of battle, and relives the terrible losses that the war left behind. A hallucinatory rendering of the mental and emotional anguish that remains well after the battlefield has been cleared.
Director:
Hamid Ghavami
Camera shots:
Hamid Ghavami
Lighting:
Hamid Ghavami
Editing:
Mehdi Naderi
Hamid Najafirad
Production Manager:
Leila Khalili
Sound Designer:
Hamid Najafirad
Cast:
Hushang Rezaii
Kiana Moshir Panahi
Rojan Ghavami
Shoeleh Tubani
Assistant Director:
Edris Mohammadi
Assistant Cameraman:
Matin Shaabani
Provision Director:
Jamil Ghavami
Dream House
About the Filmmaker:
Ahoora Zamanpira was 10 years old when he directed this film. He studies English, plays guitar and he loves music. Because both of his parents are filmmakers, he has spent a fair amount of his youth on the set, often taking pictures for the production. Ahoora was on the set of Ghobadi’s TURTLES CAN FLY and MAROONED IN IRAQ. He has made 3 short films previous to this, CARS, and A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT LIFE.
About ‘Dreamhouse’
Ten-year old filmmaker Ahoora Zamanpira’s story is charming in its simplicity. A group of kids are fastidiously building a house out of mud and nearby sticks and scraps of fabric. The meticulous detail they apply to their project is typical of the precocious creativity that is a hallmark of a healthy childhood. A surprising end illuminates how fleeting these moments of creation can be in an unpredictable world.
Director:
Ahoora Zamanpira
Written by:
Ahoora Zamanpira
Edited by:
Farshid Farokh Nia
Sound:
Jalal Vaisi
Cameraman:
Farshid Farokh Nia
Cast:
Yadegar Mohamadi
Ahoora Zamanpira
Alireza Mohamadi
Porya Ahmadi
Sara Ghavili
The Soldier and the Road
About the Filmmaker:
Nahid Ghobadi, has directed five short films (CLOSED CIRCLE, FIRST JOURNEY, BUILD OUR HOMELAND, LAST FEVER, and A SIMPLE EXCUSE FOR HAPPINESS). She was script supervisor on TURTLES CAN FLY, Assistant Director of MAROONED IN IRAQ and co-editor of HALF MOON. She is also a published poet.
About ‘The Soldier and the Road’
This quiet film speaks to universal feelings of loss during wartime; without saying a word. An elderly woman makes a long hike through the snow-covered hills to meet a soldier at the side of the road. What she receives from the soldier can never replace what she has lost.
Director:
Nahid Ghobadi
Written by:
Nahid Ghobadi
Edited by:
Nahid Ghobadi
Cameraman:
Fardin Batmani
Editing Operator:
Farshid Farokh Nia
Sound:
Farshid Farokh Nia
Cast:
Jalal Vaisi
Tala Samadi
