From Personal Experience to Critique of Patriarchal Clichés: Filmmakers' Remarks at 'Pelk'

The 69th short film gathering 'Pelk' was held at the House of Culture and Arts under the title 'A Simple Event,' featuring screenings of four Iranian and Turkish short films and a critique session with filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the 69th "Plek" short film hangout was held with the screening of four Iranian and Turkish short films at the Cinematheque House of Culture and Art "A Simple Incident"; A meeting in which Saeed Zamaniyan, the director of the short film "Sour Bez", spoke about his lived experience in making this film, the cycle of violence, the importance of characterization and the difference between the end and the finale in classic drama and script.

In this program, which was held on Sunday, October 19, 1405 at 18:00, hosted by Farhad Nasiri, the short films "Three Weeks Before" by Amir Hossein Dibaj, "Shamaran" by Shermin Soltanian, "Sour Bez" by Saeed Zamaniyan and "Criminals" by Serhat Karaslan were shown.

Ehsan Fuladifard also attended this meeting as a critic and expert. After the screening of the films, the filmmakers introduced themselves and their professional backgrounds, and the attendees participated in a discussion and question-and-answer session with the filmmakers.

In this meeting, Saeed Zamaniyan, referring to his personal experience in making "Sour Bez", said that he made this film about eight years ago, in the years 1397 to 1398, and an important part of it originated from his childhood experiences.

Stating that "Sour Bez" was a form of therapy for him, he explained that the work was formed from his lived experience and therefore has a personal narrative.

Zamanian also said about the form of the film that he intended to make a realistic work, but the cinematic world and its execution method has unintentionally taken the film towards surrealism. Referring to his experience of making fantasy and surreal works, he added that the type of plans and the way of execution played a role in shaping the atmosphere of the film.

This director also considered "Sur Bez" as a work related to the cycle of violence. Analyzing the short film "Three Weeks Before" by Amir Hossein Dibaj, while praising this work and Shermin Soltanian's short film, he stressed that to watch "Three Weeks Before" one should pay attention to its cultural and family flow; A flow in which tradition forms a part of the life conditions of the characters. The characters are present in a specific cultural environment, and examining their behavior without considering these conditions does not lead to a complete understanding of the drama.

He also pointed to the bitterness of the three films shown in this program, and related this feature to the social conditions of the time when the works were made, and said that the films should be examined in connection with the time in which they were created.

Referring to the concept of "assumed conditions" in the drama script for a better understanding of the world of short films, Zamanian discussed the importance of the ending of the drama in another part of his speech and distinguished between "the end" and "late". According to him, the task of the drama should be determined at the climax, but the ending can create suspense and show that life continues after the end of the story.

In the end, this director expressed his satisfaction with the audience's view of the films and said: the type of questions shows that the audience is familiar with cinema, and of course, everyone sees the films with their own experiences and perspective based on their emotional experiences. I remember that Asghar Farhadi advised filmmakers in his classes to use the "emotional bank" and lived experiences to create fictional works, and it is interesting to me that the audience refers to this emotional bank to analyze and watch the film.

Amirhossein Dibaj, the director of the short film "Three Weeks Before", explained about the formation of the idea of the film in response to a question from an audience member that seeing a painting and engaging his mind with the character in it sparked the initial spark of the script.

He, who made the film in Shahrivar 1400, added that reading a news had an impact on the development of the script.

Dibaj emphasized that the main problem of the film is not zeal and religion, but honor and fear of others' judgment and what role patriarchal stereotypes play in the formation of people's personality in society. In a way, "three weeks ago" is an attempt to portray a more up-to-date generation against the patriarchal generation.

Shermin Soltanian, the director of the short film "Shamaran" and a lawyer, introduced this work as his first filmmaking experience in this meeting.

In response to the question of one of the audience in the hall about the characterization of the leading actress of the film, he stated: The female character of the film has not committed a crime and has only been placed in a position where she has to measure her competence. A situation that shapes his inner conflict.

Soltanian also pointed out that about 90% of the main actors of the film were women, and spoke about the positive feedback of the audience about the film and its female perspective. He is currently working on a documentary film with a self-portrait approach.

At the end of this meeting, Ehsan Fuladifard, referring to the illness of Marzieh Akbarnejad, assistant and cinema planner, wished her recovery and expressed hope that she would recover her health as soon as possible.