Venice Winner Arsalan Amiri on Censorship in Iran and Busan APM Project ‘For The Girls Of The Tribe’
Iran’s Arsalan Amiri, who won two awards at Venice for his debut feature “Zalava,” is at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market with “For the Girls of the Tribe.”
Inspired by a real historical event that took place in 1905 in Iran, the film will tell the story of a group of peasants who rescue two girls among dozens who were kidnapped by rebels. The girls have information about a betrayal and are taken before the ruler to provide their testimony but he refuses to accept it, as, according to tradition, a woman’s testimony is only half as valuable as a man’s.
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“For hundreds of years before this event and even decades after, this situation has recurred in different parts of the world: a group of women is oppressed and most of society, the government and even some other women are silent or passive about it due to fear, benefit or convenience,” Amiri told Variety. “Today, as a person raised in Middle Eastern culture, I am caught in such a situation. History repeats itself and any change is costly. Localizing movie genres, while having a tragicomedy perspective on social issues, has always been my favorite approach to making films. I prefer stories that happen within a historical context, as it gives them a sense of fantasy. They feel like the tales of our grandmothers, which evoke feelings of nostalgia but never get old. All these thematic and stylistic features have made me drawn to this story and this form of dramatic storytelling.”
“Maybe I am making this film to calm my conscience regarding the issues in my society. Maybe I will awaken the sleeping conscience of others and their sense of social responsibility by telling a seemingly amusing story,” Amiri added.
The project reunites Amiri with his “Zalava” producers Ruth Yoshie Linton and Ida Panahandeh, who produce for Singapore’s Kingyo Films and Iran’s Evar Film Studio, respectively.
“I am a big fan of Arsalan Amiri’s stories after working with him on two films in the past, ‘The Nikaidos’ Fall’ and ‘Zalava.’ For this film, ‘For the Girls of the Tribe,’ what drew me in the most was the fact that a woman’s value was only half of a man’s. It made me want to commit to this new journey with him,” Linton told Variety.
The trio are also collaborating on “Janava,” which was at HAF earlier this year. The project is at the scripting stage and is expected to start production by March 2024.
“We are looking forward to introducing our project to fellow industry professionals who could potentially come onboard with us as co-producers, financiers, distributors and so on. There are many possibilities and it will be an exciting opportunity for us to network and turn our project into an international one. Now more than ever we need to amplify Iranian voices in film,” said Linton about the team’s APM plan.
“Today, Iranian cinema is fragmented due to the critical condition of Iranian society. Iranian society has been divided by recent political developments and Iranian cinema is also facing the same with political and ideological conflicts. In a slightly optimistic view, this also provides a historical opportunity for Iranian cinema. Currently, the conditions are very difficult for filmmakers who want to make films inside the country. Censorship laws have become stricter than before, and it has also become more difficult to make high-quality underground films. Therefore, the independent filmmakers of Iranian cinema must find a way to write stories that will face less censorship while also maintaining their independent look and style,” Amiri said.
“With some genres or subjects, there are fewer restrictions, and sometimes good films can be made (with a lot of difficulty). Sometimes domestic filmmakers still manage to make good films despite difficult economic conditions and censorship, which is truly commendable. However, censorship is the silent killer of new talents in Iranian cinema. Many of my filmmaker friends have emigrated from the country in the last two years and are trying to make films on the other side of Iran’s political borders. I hope they succeed. The cultural boundaries of Iranian cinema are unlimited and present the opportunity to make more diverse films,” Amiri added.
“For the Girls of the Tribe” is budgeted at $1.4 million of which $100,000 has been raised.
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