Trust cinema – Mohammad Hossein Hosseini, the producer of the documentary “Katayoun narrated by Katayoun”, in an interview with Mehr reporter about the concern that caused the production of this documentary, said: The influence and position of women in Iranian cinema, including Ms. Katayoun Amirbrahimi, made me accept co-producer in this project. . Undoubtedly, the name of Mrs. Elsa Firoz Azar and the research and direction of Hamidreza Sanghian went hand in hand for me to have the honor of working in this project. The fresh, young and new generation of our cinema, especially the girls and women who have recently entered this field, should be informed about the obstacles and hardships that our great artists faced in the not-so-distant past. They should know that in an era, the presence of women in society, especially as an artist and actress, was very heavy and indigestible for the society and the people around them.
Stating that this documentary deals with the position and role of women in Iranian society and cinema and the ups and downs of Katayoun Amir Ebrahimi’s professional life, he continued: Katayoun Amir Ebrahimi is one of the second generation female actors of Iranian cinema. In a way, it can be said that she is the only survivor of the women of our cinema before the Islamic revolution. She was the first female actress in the first musical film of Iranian cinema, “Hasan Kachel”, which is an unforgettable film directed by Zindayad Ali Hatami.
Referring to Amir Ebrahimi’s appearance in more than 60 movies and collaboration with directors such as Dariush Mehrjoui, Fereydon Gole, Iraj Qadri, Samuel Khachikian, Mohammad Ali Fardin, etc., this producer stated: Ketayon Amir Ebrahimi’s prolific career along with his 26-year silence after the revolution And starting again with the series “I am a tenant” was one of the things that made the documentary portrait of him more interesting for me. In addition, although Ms. Amirabrahimi was not seen in many movies and series after the revolution, she is still very popular with the people. An event that can cause his portrait documentary to be seen more.
Hosseini also explained about the challenges of producing a documentary film in the current situation: I personally believe that producing a documentary film is more difficult and complicated than the medium of short story cinema, but it also has its own sweets. However, encountering various sources, including documents, archives, images, and referring to history and the existence of a document, makes everything more difficult and complicated. Fortunately, the director of the documentary, due to his friendship and family relationship with Mrs. Amirabrahimi, has collected complete archives and documents from her.
He added: Mrs. Amirabrahimi has worked with almost all the actors of the 40s and 50s, including Nasser Malek Mutiai, Mohammad Ali Fardin, Beyk Imanvardi, Taghi Zahouri, Behrouz Vathouqi, Manouchehr Vathouq, and Iraj Qadri. She was a female star of Iranian cinema in the 1940s, who revealed the ups and downs of this field, her old colleagues, her personal and family life in front of the camera of this documentary. Either way, documentary work is walking on a razor’s edge. Of course, in this work, we tried to document the conversations of Mrs. Amirabrahimi in the heart of her personal life as much as possible, and not to disrespect any of the deceased and loved ones who are still alive by telling the truth.
This producer also explained about the process of obtaining permission to produce a documentary from Katayoun Amir Ebrahimi: Mrs. Amir Ebrahimi has never been banned from working or filming after the Islamic Revolution. In fact, when his daughter Naz Soltani was born in France, he voluntarily said goodbye to Persian cinema in 1353 (that is, 4 years before the revolution). After the revolution, he was not summoned to the court at all, and according to them, he was not treated badly. The reason for their 26-year absence from the cinema is only to raise and educate their children.
Hosseini continued: He has lived outside of Iran for many years and continues to return to Iran from France because of his parents. After many years, Parisa Bakhtavar and Mehran Maham invited him to play in the TV series “Man Yek Mustajerm” and this is a new beginning for him in his acting career. Therefore, we did not have any problem to obtain the license to produce this work. This documentary also deals with the life and circumstances of Mrs. Amir Ebrahimi these days with an overview of her professional life.
He also said about his interaction with Katayoun Amir Ebrahimi for making a portrait documentary: I had the honor of working with him before in the short film “Everything is for sale” and the movie “Nabaziger”. In addition to this, the presence of Hamidreza Sanghian, the writer and director of cinema, and his respect for veteran artists, made us talk to Ms. Amirabrahimi about making and recording her portrait. Few actors can be named who are fluent in 4 living languages of the world at this age. But Ms. Amirabrahimi has this ability and it must be said that she is a very literate artist. During the recording of the documentary, despite being tired from work, he cooperated with us wholeheartedly and we express our gratitude to him for this.
In the end, the producer of the documentary “Katayoun according to Katayoun” said: We produced this documentary with our heart and soul and without any financial expectations, and it is necessary to acknowledge the support and trust of Elsa Firouz Azar, who was the co-producer of this project. thank you This work was made to record an image of the good lady and artist of Iranian cinema. Actors should know that it is always difficult to remain a star. I hope to see the public release of this documentary soon.
The documentary “Katayoun according to Katayoun” directed by Hamidreza Sanghian and co-produced by Elsa Firouzazar and Mohammad Hossein Hosseini is undergoing its post-production process.