Elli
Safari Interview
Director of Medium of Love, Elli Safari spoke to us about the
making her film.
RLFF – Did you feel
a need to show the West a side of Iran we do not normally witness?
bElli Safari – This is a film made for the
West as to show it at home would affect my opportunities in the
future in Iran. It has not been seen there, and do not plan to
try and show it there. It would also surprise many people in Iran
to see this cleric using films like this. The film is meant to
show the West the true history of Iran as well, not the Westernised
version you know.
RLFF – In the film
Afsahi makes an enormous sacrifice. Do you think Afsahi’s sacrifice
was worth it in the end, or was he naïve?
bElli
Safari – Naïve yes, but in a positive connotation. His
wife studies film now at an academy, so it was definitely a sacrifice
that worked for him. The limitation of authority was pointed out
to great effect by his actions. RLFF
– Afsahi decided to show love through films. For him, is cinema
worth fighting for in the same way as for love?
bElli Safari – Yes definitely, which is why
he sacrificed everything to show the films. You would never
expect to see elderly clerics to see these films, and he managed
this. He was trying to show love through film, which is why
he used films such as Natural Born Killers, Breaking the Waves
and AI to express this, which is why I used this as a focus.
RLFF – What are your plans with regard to
future projects?
bElli Safari – There is one that I cannot tell
you about as the authorities might stop me trying to make it.
It is planned but that is all I can tell you. I am also doing
a film about the long-term effects of chemical weapons. This
follows other research I did after the Iran Iraq war where these
weapons were used by Saddam Hussein, and he also used them in
his own country after the war. This is an important film as
there have been wide effects from their use.
Interview by Matthew Roman Kopsinki |
