Etamad Cinema, Tina Jalali wrote in Etemad newspaper:
“Three Covers” directed by Mehdi Esmaili and produced by Mohammad Afrideh is being shown on the cinema screens these days, a film with a hot social theme that has an attractive narrative and artists such as Baran Kothari, Attila Pesiani, Shahrokh Fortunian, Roya Javednia, etc. are playing in it. .
Since in the last two or three years, the production and screening of social films with the issues of the society was accompanied by many restrictions, we met with the producer of this film, who happens to be one of the famous former directors of Iranian cinema (CEO of the Iranian Youth Cinema Association and CEO of the Center for the Development of Documentary Cinema and We had a conversation and asked his opinion about the crisis in social cinema. Afrideh says: When we residents of this big family of 80 million people don’t talk about our problems, you can be sure that strangers will say it with grace. According to this producer, not talking about problems is a sign of our weakness.
This conversation is in front of you:
If you agree, let’s start the discussion on the topic of the three-volume film, how did you decide to make a social film again? And you chose an inflammatory topic to make a film? Of course, the film was made three years ago.
Choosing topics in Iranian cinema is often not optional, many things go hand in hand to form an activity or a topic. But social issues are always tempting because they are always interesting and fresh and can be very influential. In my opinion, the presentation of social issues is informative in many cases. Some people should be afraid of the narration of social issues that run away from the truth.
According to many experts and of course what we see on the cinema screens, the life of social cinema has suffered a severe crisis in the last two or three years. (Of course, in the government of Mr. Parshekian, a different view of the managers is promised) But Mr. Afrideh, can you close your eyes to social problems and not talk about them?
You see, cinema means all tastes and genres, whether we only make social films or only comedy films or if only one genre dominates all cinemas is wrong and wrong. All capacities should be able to make films together in a fair and appropriate condition and there should be a healthy effort and competition. You can’t turn a blind eye to social issues, just as you can’t ignore the diverse and diverse tastes of people and audiences who have diverse needs. The people, or rather the audience, are the life of cinema. Cinema comes alive with the people. If we make movies and don’t need people to attend, we will become a state cinema, a cinema that costs a lot but has little profit. As unbridled and unbridled commercial cinema is harmful to cinema, culture and people, reckless state cinema and oil books are harmful and fruitless to culture and people.
As a producer and even an executive director, how do you see the role of social cinema in solving the country’s problems?
Imam Ali (a.s.) says, “Awareness brings patience.” Running away from awareness brings weakness, weakness and injustice. If this cinema is genuine and without pretentiousness, it is a warning cinema.
In your opinion, where does such a view of the officials (not to mention the problems) towards social cinema come from?
When we residents of this big family of 80 million people don’t talk about our problems, you can be sure that strangers will say it with grace. Not talking about problems is a sign of our weakness.
Why did you distance yourself from executive responsibility for a long time? However, for many years you had extensive activity in the field of executive.
From the beginning, I didn’t want to enter executive work and I was a fugitive. I used to write screenplays, make movies, make programs and have a different world, but fate and destiny brought us to executive work. This destiny was the divine grace that placed us in the middle of the whirlwind of executive responsibility. When you see this divine grace, everything becomes sweet and pleasant for you.
Mr. Afrideh, let’s talk about the movie “Three Volumes”, which is on the cinema screens these days and is considered the director’s first movie. One of the problems of the last two or three years of Iranian cinema was the challenge of the first filmmaker. In other words, in the last two years, Iranian cinema was accompanied by the arrival of many first-time film directors who were not known at all, and there was a concern among experts and cinematographers that filmmakers cannot be produced and the category of filmmaking is based on taste and instinct, if Don’t get me wrong, you were in charge of managing the center for the expansion of support for around 60 first filmmakers. What is your analysis about this?
See, any activity in any field needs skinning to be sustainable. My view in the years when I was in the association and the center was to remove the barrier of mistrust to the creative youth of this land. Young people who had experience, knowledge and talent, but no one opened the door for them. On the other hand, we had a cinema where more than 70% of them were stuck and had no more hope or some did not have the courage to change under the shadow of their past experiences, that trust brought with it a roaring wave of creativity, hope and creativity and created a creative and dynamic generation. He gave a gift to Iranian cinema. The support of the cinema of every country is the young creative generation and their experiences.
Now, how did cooperation with the director of the first film, Mr. Esmaili, take place for you?
Due to the years of companionship and working with young people, we usually have these loved ones with plans and scripts, on the phone or in person, or have an appointment. Film production and script selection, and most importantly, finding capital, always take a long time, but whenever everything is arranged to the extent that it does not harm the work, the key is reached. I met and we made an appointment. The investor of the project, Mr. Adelian, was his first work in the field of cinema, and his conduct and his ideals really encouraged me to produce the project. His trust in this young director doubled my responsibility for maintaining the quality of the project.
But Esmaili was able to overcome the inflammation of the story, and to be fair, Baran’s efforts were not without effect, and also other actors such as Atila Pesiani, how was the role of the producer in this direction?
The first film is usually a dream for all filmmakers and involves the entire mind and soul of the filmmaker. In the meetings and conversations I had with Ismaili, I saw his ability and knowledge of cinema and the chosen subject, accurate and intelligent, and I tried to discuss and comment on the script in numerous meetings with the presence of knowledgeable and experienced people. The duty of the producer is to create a condition It is suitable and appropriate for the filmmaker’s creativity considering the film’s budget. Alhamdulillah, very good and skilled actors have gathered together. As the director’s advisor, they accompanied the project and they were kind and took their time as always. You said about Baran Kothari, we really should have named the film Baran, it was not clear what fate this film would have had without Baran. Apart from the fact that they had a good and high understanding of the characters in the film, they acted in real life moments. Apart from being an actor in the film, Baran was my companion and colleague as a producer, because with his knowledge of production and cinema, he always did everything he could to advance the work.
May God have mercy on Attila Pesiani, he was a noble man. I got to know him during the years when I was in Farabi. He was our guest on the scene from one morning to the afternoon and did us a favor.
Mr. Afrideh, considering that you are working as a producer, let’s talk about the increase in production costs. A few days ago, I was talking to one of the producers of Iranian cinema, he said; The production of every film and story is not cost-effective, so the cost of producing a film today is 35 billion tomans. What is your analysis about this?
In any case, all costs in the society have gone up, and cinema is no exception. But know that high cost often does not lead to a good movie. Of course, this trend towards comedy is a blessing because of the high costs. Unfortunately, there is no place that has general support for cinema anymore, and some people have no choice but to go this route.
And finally, what is your suggestion for the new film management course?
In my meetings with cinema managers, I always told them to be careful, don’t let these cartables of yours manage instead of you. These cartables are the same as everyday ones. These daily routines have taken the power and centrality from cinema for a long time.