Diary of a first-timer at Cannes 2016: The Cinema of Iran and Saurav Rai's short film 'Gudh'

May 20

Iranian films have long been popular in India. Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven became a sort of cult film in our country. Of course, there were many Iranian directors who before that had made their mark at the international level, but Children of Heaven struck a chord because of the child protagonist trying to win a pair of shoes for his sister. Many young directors, especially from Maharashtra were, and still are, influenced by Iranian cinema and that clearly reflects in their work.

That is what prompted a visit to the Iranian booth at Cannes. A curiosity regarding today's Iranian films. Kamyar Mohsenin who is a film critic and teacher, and an executive researcher with the Farabi Cinema Foundation for the last twelve years, speaks with me. Farabi organises the 'Fajr International Film Festival' founded in 1982. It also organises a national film festival.

“We select and acquire films for theatrical release in Iran. We also promote Iranian cinema. Farabi Foundation is the sole importer of foreign films,” he informs. “Sometimes we release these films in the theatres too. These are not Hollywood films but those from European and Asian countries, which have arthouse qualities. We also get such films for education purposes, for students to understand cinema better.”

He says many of the students are interested in filmmaking and are coming up with their own ideas and style. “Some of them have started making films, which are being appreciated by the foreign buyers,” he says, adding the censorship is always at the back of the mind while importing a film in Iran. “We don't look at making money or commercial purposes. Although it is difficult because we do not have enough theatres. There are 380 movie theatres in the whole of Iran and we make almost hundred films annually. So you can't really have theatres for foreign films when you need them for your own cinema.”

He further points out Majid Majidi's Muhammad: Messenger of God was a big hit last year and Indian films, most of them commercial, always find a place in “our Home Video Network”. “Indian cinema is quite popular in our country. Like in India, we too have films made for national box office and there is parallel cinema,” he says. “There are good comedies being produced and they get good response from the audiences, they are blockbusters but these films would not connect with the international audiences and cannot be promoted outside the country. The films that you see in the festivals are those from the parallel cinema naturally.” 

Iranians view the film screenings at the Azadi Cinema in Tehran.As Iranian films and actors compete at Cannes, attention is turning toward the country's thriving independent cinema sector which is succeeding despite tough regulations. AFP

Apart from the official Iran booth, there is another small booth from Iran, located on a different floor. Marjan Alizadeh, the international distributor manager says, “The one you visited is the government booth. Mine is an independent distribution company, and we do not take any money from the government. They select their people themselves.”

He says his interest in this kind of work is the sole reason behind his presence at Cannes. “The government mostly distributes commercial movies and we deal in only art house movies,” he notes. “They distribute government productions while we distribute movies made by independent filmmakers who are young, first time makers. Of course, we cannot make any type of film, we look for a different story, it does not need to be political. The films that we have distributed internationally have been shown in many festivals and have won quite a few awards.”

The films that Marjan promotes are different. For example, Maat is a film by Saba Kazemi which is a docu-fiction based on the plight of families from different towns, suffering financial problems after the sanctions imposed by US and Europe against Iran. Or there is Paris-Tehran in which a 35-year-old Iranian girl living in Paris comes to Tehran to get sperm from an Iranian boy who ditches her. 
With a laundry list of dos and don'ts for the filmmakers and with politics completely off the list, it is heartening to see Iranian directors residing in Iran and exploring bold subjects. 

May 21

The festival is in its last phase. There are still long queues for the screenings but the market is almost empty. Most of the booths are now closed and the few that are not look deserted. One corner though is still active, still vibrant and that is the short film corner. It occupies large space, has a meeting corner, a conference hall and a screening cafe among other booths. The conference hall continuously has screenings of short films followed by a discussion with the director, actor or producer. There are quite a number of attendees. A majority of them young, aspiring directors or students. That explains the reason for the lively atmosphere at the booth. 

The screening cafe has almost 50 counters and one can watch all or any short film that is in the competition section or just selected to be screened at the festival. There are more than 2000 films and you need to wait your turn to get to the kiosk. There are 46 short films from India available here and some have screenings at the mini theatres at the Grand Palais. 

India's Saurav Rai from Satyajit Rai Film and Television Institute has a film Gudh in the competition section, the only entry from our country. The language is Nepali, it is a film about the memories of a small kid, Ajay, which are mostly flashes and not in a chronological order. Some moments are engraved in our memory, may not be relevant when you grow up but remain a strong part of your life. Ajay cutting grass in the fields with his mother, mother feeding him cooked potatoes, teaching him how to whistle, his father hitting him, his dance with his grandmother, him feeding an orange to his cow, the tension in the village, the presence of military... We see all these memories as scenes and there is no linear storytelling. The camera work is brilliant and so are the characters. 28 minutes long, the director has handled the film with the softness and tenderness that a childhood deserves.