Signals: Inside Iran
Signals: Inside Iran
Inside Iran
On ‘Elephant in Darkness’ and Other Telling Images Bianca Taal & Gertjan Zuilhof
Over the years, we have welcomed very many Iranian filmmakers to Rotterdam, including those who make their films abroad and directors who let their cameras roll in Iran itself, in great secrecy. Our conversations with them only served to make us more curious. From their stories about the hidden artistic life of filmmakers and artists, we gathered that, although public and official life in Iran may be difficult, a great deal is still possible behind closed doors. That encouraged us to visit Iran to find out what is possible and what isn’t in this country with its ancient and opulent culture. It was a very new and different experience for both of us. Southwards with Panahi
Gertjan Zuihof: ‘In the lead-up to IFFR 2010, I gave a presentation to the festival staff about a project with African filmmakers whom I had taken to a workshop in China. Afterwards, a staff member who was a native of Iran came up to me and asked why I didn’t do something like this for Iranian filmmakers. At first I was surprised. After all, Iranian filmmakers are among the very best in the world, and surely I don’t need to take them to a workshop? But she was interested in the fact that religious and political developments had been making the position of Iranian filmmakers increasingly difficult. She wanted to focus attention on this. I promised to think about it. It made me alert in my further encounters with Iranians in the film world. There is a diaspora of professional Iranian filmmakers throughout the world, so I met them on my travels through Southeast Asia and South Africa, but also in Sweden and the Netherlands. I have listened to many colourful stories that Iranian filmmakers tell about their country when they were still able to live and work there.
‘I went to Iran for this project. It was my first visit. I wrote to all my contacts in the diaspora and asked them for their film connections in Iran and then I asked those new contacts for more contacts. As a result I knew who to call as soon as I left the airport. Some contacts proved to be more useful than others. I have known my oldest Iranian friend, Alireza Khatemi (who happens to be very young), ever since he studied in Malaysia. He has an exceptional network in artistic as well as social circles. He understood what and who I was looking for. He also encouraged me not to get stuck in Tehran’s affluent northern side, but to get out and visit the real people in the southern part. In the end I was driven to the south by no one less than Jafar Panahi. I could tell Alireza that I had seen the city he is no longer allowed to see.’ Unwanted Vacation
Bianca Taal: ‘A generous invitation from the film festival of Isfahan took me to Iran. It seemed a wonderful opportunity, also to work on researching our programme. It was a strange experience. I had never previously been to a film festival where films could not be seen. Without any information, I was driven around every day in tourist buses with other international invitees. Whenever I tried asking questions (“Can I go to a film?” “Will there be any directors there?” “Is it possible to go back to Tehran earlier?”), the answer was always “We’ll look into it for you”. Travelling back to the capital under my own steam was out of the question – the hotel “looked after” my passport until the end of the festival. Even the really simple question of “Where is the tour taking us today?” evoked no more response than “Sit down in the bus and then we’ll tell you more”. Imprisoned in an unwanted vacation.’ ‘What did I experience? Several official excursions to impressive parks, palaces and mosques, and an enormous PR machine. About three times a day there was a camera crew that wanted to make another interview with the same queries: Whether I thought the people in Iran were friendly and hospitable and whether I could describe how beautiful the country was. Call it getting to know the official side of the country. The side where you are hospitably received but also the side that continually leaves you ignorant.’ ‘And sometimes you don’t have to go to Iran to meet Iranian filmmakers. The festival in Dubai this year was one of the primary locations where I met many of the filmmakers from our programme – filmmakers from various generations, working inside or outside Iran.’ From realistic to strangely symbolic
These encounters and discoveries in Iran (and elsewhere) were not all that formed the motivation for this programme. At least as important is the question of what has happened to the Iranian new-wave cinema of Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf, Jalili and others. After all, about 15 years ago, Iranian cinema was among the best in the world. For some time now, Kiarostami and Makhmalbaf have made their work outside the borders of Iran. Kiarostami
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42ND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
42ND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
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