'Gisheh 2' Is a Visual Record of Theater's Vibrant Years

The documentary 'Gisheh 2' is less a product of cinematic formula than a personal and nostalgic record. Insisting on simplicity, the project seeks to portray those twenty-five years of rehearsal not as a grand artistic work, but as a document of theatrical practice and the intersection of destiny and love for the stage.

According to Ambassador Arjan, in the 58th program of the series of film theater screenings, the short documentary "Gisheh 2" from the package of documentaries about Iranian theater by the Association of Theater Critics, Writers and Researchers was screened on Wednesday evening, October 15, 1405, in the Ostad Naseri Hall of the Iranian Artists' House, and a review and analysis session was held in the presence of Hassan Jodki (director) and Seyed Mohsen Hassanzadeh (theater critic).

Hassan Jodki, the director of the documentary "Box Office 2", in his narration of his memories of managing the box office of the city theater and the direct experience of observing the rehearsals of Bahram Beizaei in 2002, considered this work not a professionally directed act, but a lived experience and a tribute to the passionate era of Iranian theater.

Recalling the long lines of spectators that sometimes wrapped around the city theater building, he spoke about the passion that was the lifeblood of cultural activities in the absence of electronic sales systems; A space that Jodeki loved, the basement plateaus of the city theater as a classroom for understanding theater.

Recounting the story of his curiosity in the balcony of Chaharso Hall to see Beidai's exercises, he narrated a surprising encounter and said: Mr. Beidai had noticed that someone was present in the darkness of the balcony, and during the exercise, they got angry and asked who are you standing up there? I thought you were an auditor. I told the teacher that I am Judki, the manager of the box office, and after my friends confirmed the matter, this incident became a turning point in my life, and the teacher said that if you want to see the rehearsal, you should come and sit in the first row and not be in the dark.

He humbly said about the technical and directing aspects of this documentary: "Gishe 2" documentary is more than the result of a cinematic rule, it is a record of a personal and memorable experience; A project that, by insisting on maintaining simplicity, has tried to portray those twenty-five days of practice not as a magnificent work of art, but as a document of a theatrical exercise and the intersection of destiny and love for the stage.

Analyzing the narrative form of the documentary "Gisheh 2" and the importance of the symbolic images at the beginning and end of the work, Ali Afshar, the host of the program, pointed out its profound effect in re-reading the collective memory of the theater and said: exactly twenty-three years ago, in Mehr 2002, the "Night of the Thousand and One" performances took place; Watching these pictures again brought back all our memories and belongings from that time.

Mohsen Hassanzadeh, critic and theater expert, said: These pictures show that those moments, despite the passage of time, are still immortal and ongoing.

Referring to the visual metaphors of the film, including the game with the door and lock in the opening sequences, he emphasized the power of Hassan Jodki's documentation in reviving the atmosphere of the city's theater exercises and said: a narrative that is not only a visual document of an artistic experience, but also a mirror of the passion of a generation for whom the art of performing has been more than just entertainment, an inseparable part of its existence.

The member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Writers, Critics and Researchers of the House of Theater in the review of the documentary "Gisheh 2", referring to the unique atmosphere of this work, as if it throws the audience into another world and an era separate from today's conditions, emphasized the importance of historical recording of these moments and said: If every employee or person who was present in the city theater complex at that time, had picked up a camera and recorded these moments with the same enthusiasm and enthusiasm, today would be a huge treasure of history. We had oral and visual; The fundamental difference between this documentary and oral narratives is that instead of hearing, we see the event itself and can judge based on specific data.

He added: The documentary begins with a narrative of box office chaos, long queues and time management challenges as if it is still standing, but later, the narrative changes its direction towards the work itself, the discussions and review sessions of Bahram Bayzaei; It's as if the director didn't have the patience to delete these images because of their value, and even though he slightly changed the initial narrative line, he also gave the documentary a double documentary value.

By analyzing the intellectual approach of Bahram Baizaei in the question and answer sessions and its reflection in the documentary "Gishe 2", Mohsen Hassanzadeh considered this part of the work beyond the usual conversations and emphasized: in these parts, Baizaei describes his fundamental views about the existence, surroundings and the work itself; This shows that the producer sought to present a comprehensive picture of the relationship between this show and the thought of its creator.

Analyzing the technical and formal structure of the documentary, he reminded and said: The producer probably noticed the lack of coherence and narrative trajectory in the editing process after collecting the initial images, and then tried to connect the beginning and the end of the work into a coherent form and create a more solid narrative of that historical experience by adding rushes and subsequent visual arrangements.

Ali Afshar, the host of the program, emphasizing the creator's intelligence in using press archives and combining them with first-hand reports, called the role of editing decisive in bringing Bahram Baizai's presence to life and said: When we look at the structure of the work from a precise angle, we find that the creator did not stop at arranging newspaper clippings and headlines, but in a commendable effort, he confronted us with It directly ellipses with itself; An encounter in which the audience of Daschandam's narrative watches the master himself explaining his views and intellectual confrontations.

He is of the opinion that this documentary-like approach in recording oval actions has turned "Gishe 2" from a simple report into a dynamic document that preserves the spirit of the period of dramatic activities of those years for future generations.

Hassan Jodki, the director of the documentary "Gisheh 2", by analyzing the difficulties of producing this work and the numerous obstacles of those years to obtain a license and bring along professional equipment, considered this documentary not the product of a large-scale cinematic planning, but the result of personal concern and direct infatuation with the theater atmosphere.

Pointing out that at that time, despite technical limitations and the use of low-end cameras, he was always looking for a way to record the throbbing pulse of theaters, and said: I always considered the audience a respectable and vital element in the theater; I believe that the theater comes alive with the breath of the audience, and my concern was to connect this passion and excitement before the performance, from the arrival of the audience and the group's struggle for make-up and clothes to the moment of sitting on the seats, in a visual frame.

Jodaki regretfully mentioned the unrecorded archives of other works, including his collaboration with Hamed Mohammad Tahari, who did not manage to record it completely at that point, and added: This documentary is actually the product of the accumulation of rushes that had the aspect of a personal archive for many years, and only in the late editing process, it became the current coherent narrative.

Looking at the criticisms raised about the technical structure of the work, he emphasized: the documentary "Gisheh 2" does not claim to follow the classical rules of cinema, but it is a document of an honest effort to preserve the moments that will remain only in the memory of the lovers of the scene in the passage of time; An effort that, although far from the professional production standards of the time, but with an originality born of love for the stage, protects a part of the oral history of the performing arts from oblivion.

Mohsen Hassanzadeh, an expert and theater critic, emphasizing the crude and yet valuable nature of the documentary "Gishe 2", believes that the technical shortcomings of the work do not act as a weakness, but as its distinguishing feature.

Referring to the frames and images that are sometimes far from cinematic standards, he said: the rawness of the shots allows the audience to touch the nostalgic atmosphere around the city theater and the long queues of that era, which are part of our collective memory, without mediation or judgment.

By moving to the comparative analysis of theater management in that era and current conditions, Hassanzadeh changed the approach from art-oriented to business-oriented and added: In those years, the main concern of artists such as Bahram Bayzaei was the quality of the work and the compatibility of the theater with the artistic needs of the performance, not just numerical marketing; On the contrary, today, the commercial logic of two, two, four, casts a shadow on the cultural space.

He considered this documentary not a pre-planned film project, but an instinctive reaction on the part of the director to record moments and said: If these moments were not recorded, they would be forgotten over time.

Hassanzadeh considered the seemingly chaotic narrative structure of this work not as a weakness, but as a valuable identifier that opens a new window towards the oral history of the theater, and referring to the elements within the context of the film, from the choice of music to the narration of the audience's unquestionable concern for Bahram Baizai's works, which even put the price of the ticket on the sidelines, he said: This confusing narrative is a feature and a document in itself; Because it confronts us with the lived realities of that time, including the safety challenges of crowded halls, which later came to the attention of the fire department. At that time, the main concern of Bayzai and his audience was the artistic work and quality, and the audience looked at the theater with an aesthetic view, not a commercial one.