cinema cinemaMohammad Haqit;
For some time, the presence of Iranian directors in Europe and other countries has been noticeable and their number is increasing day by day. These directors either started their work in Iran and then tried to find a way to further progress in the West or were forced to emigrate due to social conditions and excessive censorship in the country, of which Amir Naderi is one of the most famous in 35 years. is recent The last example is Mohammad Rasulov, who secretly left the country to complete the post-production stages of the film in Germany. With this film, he entered Cannes 2024 for the first time and won the special prize of the judges. He is currently based in Germany.
A number of other filmmakers have started their work abroad from the beginning, such as Ali Abbasi, Alireza Khatami, etc., and Milad Tangshir is another one of this group, who studied cinema in Italy and then started filmmaking, and with his first feature film It made it to the “International Week of Venice Critics” and was immediately accepted into the Toronto Festival. The Venice festival will start from August 28 to September 7 and the Toronto festival will start from September 5.
The story of the film is about Jesus, a young Senegalese immigrant who illegally arrived in Italy in the city of Turin. One day, his brother kills Jesus out of fear of the police. Later, with the help of one of his friends, he buys an installment bicycle to deliver ready-made meals to customers anywhere and anytime in his new job, but this is the beginning of the story until one day the bicycle, which is his business capital, is stolen, but he does not stop…
After watching the movie, I had a conversation with its director.
What do you call the Persian name of this movie?
I had no suggestion for it myself. I think the translation that they have made in Iranian language sites is good. In order for Jesus to be able to live in any situation, he must deliver ready-made food to anywhere and anytime. This is what is written on the back of the bag that also carries the food. In fact, this is a story for anywhere and anytime, and this story can also apply anywhere.
Based on this, we can say that you, as a director, can make a movie anywhere and anytime?!
(Director laughs a little) Yes, this can be our own story! Many of these immigrants have tried to do something in various ways, among them those who have done artistic work have attracted attention.
Did you start filmmaking in Iran?
no I started in Italy in 2011. We used to have a music group with friends in Iran and I had made three albums underground, but we faced problems. Of course, I was interested in cinema as a child. Later I came to Italy. Of course, I was busy with other things from 2000 to 2010. I studied cinematography here and after a few months I was able to make a short film by borrowing a camera from the university. I found this interesting, so I sold the music equipment I had and bought video equipment. I finally got a film degree at the University of Turin.
What made you choose Italy to study etc.?
I have been interested in Italy since I was a child. My father loved cinema and used to watch movie cassettes in the movie archive at home, which were mostly Italian and neorealism works. He watched the films of Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren, etc. I had the chance to grow up with this cinema. I felt that the Italian culture was close to us.
What were the first short films you made about?
It was about my parents. When I was back in Iran, I was filming them and their normal life with the camera I bought near Damavand. Later, when I assembled them, I found it interesting. For me, at first it was considered as a personal archive, I gave it to a festival in Italy, which was accepted and I got a special diploma. Later, in Italy, I made a documentary film about immigrants who came from the Balkans from several European countries. Another time, when I returned to Iran in 2017, I made a film in the Kurdistan region where there was an earthquake.
To make the first feature film, it must have taken several years before you could finance it, right?
Yes, it took 6 years. When I had the initial idea, I met a young man from Senegal who was carrying food here and there on a bicycle. I went back and forth with him all summer. I had this fear when I wanted to enter the story space from documenting. Therefore, I thought that I should closely witness the details of that character’s life – feel him – get to know him better, etc. Now I can say that I am satisfied with my work.
Now that the film is about the life of immigrants, the question arises, what happens when an Iranian goes to an African immigrant instead of, for example, dealing with the life of an Iranian immigrant?
It doesn’t matter, the tragedy of an immigrant and his troubles are not that different. What I had seen in Italy and was always in front of my eyes were these African immigrants who make up almost 80 percent of the immigrants in Italy. Of course, what you mentioned could be true, and it could even attract more producers’ attention if I made it about Iranians. But I don’t like to be labeled that because I am Iranian, I have to make a film about Iranians. I think a person’s passport should not say what he should do or not do! We should have the freedom to make a film about the subject we like and feel.
Amir Naderi’s movie “Runner” can be seen in your film. During the film, we see that Jesus is always running and trying to achieve something, and even the use of a wheel, etc., creates these similarities, but on the other hand, there is a kind of praise from Vittorio Desica’s film The Bicycle Thief. It can also be interesting for Italian.
You mentioned some interesting points and it is absolutely correct. Of course, Amir Naderi’s film is one of the masterpieces of Iranian cinema. But I did not pay attention to this point during the making of the film.
You may know that the first time the movie “The Runner” was shown on the world stage was in 1985 at the Venice Film Festival in Volpi Hall, which had two limited screenings, and now that your film is starting its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It’s an interesting coincidence. In addition, it is interesting that one of the film investments is Channel 3 Italy, which helps art and experience films.
Yes, I had the chance that the Italian producer who took over the work of the film could make them a partner in the work. During the process of making and finalizing the film, a total of about one and a half million Euros was budgeted for the film. Throughout the year, Channel 3 invests in many author films – documentaries and fiction – that the Italian cinema would not be able to produce without their help.
There are good scenes in the movie that made the movie interesting for me, including in the church, as well as getting to know the girl who later takes him everywhere on a bicycle instead of physical food, spiritual and emotional food. Another scene is where he enters the old Italian woman’s house to help her. This is where the camera enters the private society of ordinary people of that country and we get to know some of them and so on.
Thank you for your attention.
When will the film be released in Italy?
supposed to be from September 11 It will be shown to the public a few days after the end of the Venice festival.