ifilm interview with Shahram Shahhosseini

In an exclusive ifilm interview, Iran director Shahram Shahhosseini discloses interesting details on his TV and cinema career.

The director’s two TV series ‘Eight and a Half Minutes’ and ‘It's All There’ have drawn a large viewing audience.

Shahram Shahhosseini began his career in cinema as an assistant director then started directing short movies, such as ‘A Few Kilometers Ahead’ and ‘Taste of Soil’.

In 2007, he directed his first film, ‘Crow, Flies!’.

Shahhosseini has directed several movies, including ‘Women Are Angels’ (2007) and ‘The House of a Girl’ (2014).

He has also directed various TV series, such as ‘The Compensation’ (2010), ‘Like a Nightmare’ (2011), ‘Visible and Invisible’ (2013) and ‘It's All There’ (2014).

Shahhosseini has worked as an assistant director in several movies, including ‘A Journey to Chazabeh’ (1995), ‘Killing Mad Dogs’ (2003) and ‘Mino Garden’ (2005)

He has also acted in the TV series ‘It's All There’ (2014).

A glance at his CV shows the artist is on the right track and reached success through gaining skills and experience.

Below is a rough translation of selected parts from his interview conducted by ifilm in Persian.

ifilm: In the previous decade, you made films such as ‘Crow, Flies!’ for the popular cinema, how come you style in filmmaking changed over time?

Shahhosseini: That is true. Before professionally entering the world of filmmaking when I was still working as an assistant director, making movies in terms of film finance and building trust was way too difficult than today. I’d already made short films for Fajr Filmfest and won a whole number of awards which showed that I was better at making art films. However, proving such point was a little bit difficult.

For a year, I’d go to different offices with a screenplay in hand, though nothing happened in that period.  Then, I saw Fereydoun Jeyrani who told me to make my first film ‘Crow, Flies!’ with Mohammad-Hossein Farahbakhsh. I asked hime why and he said, “To become a director, your name should first appear on the screen. When we figure that you know your work well, then you could make better films. Technically, your own films.”  

What director Jeyrani said led to my coopration with  Farahbakhsh in three films and that I still like to collaborate with him more.   

ifilm: Do you think that investors can trust you now? Given that you have an unscreened film titled ‘The Girl’s House’ and that an investor basically does not like to have their money locked up?

Shahhosseini: That flick had a different story. Due to controversy about the film which I never learnt why it happened and also the then culture minister of Iran who did not see the film. When I decided to remain silent and not respond to those making mischief in between, this made such misunderstanding spread and go even further.

I think they did the film as well as its crew an injustice.     

ifilm: Mr. Shahhosseini, in ‘Eight and a Half Minutes’ as well as your other series, you narrates mini-stories embedded as a sidebar to the main storyline. Were you worried that the side stories would affect the main one?

Shahhosseini: That was not the case since those stories are in line with one another and had no interference. In the series you mentioned, a wide range of  mini-stories was going on which can go along the main story. They were not supposed to be the main focal point of the storyline, though they added more glamour to the series. In other terms, they make such films more presentable as a good product for sale.

ifilm:  Your series are basically concerned with a simple matter in life  and then details come along the way. Is this something unintentional or is there any thinking behind that?

Shahhosseini: You see, technically, I like to make films on love, affection, kindness and devotion as well as ethics and its priority. I’d like to let such concept follow in the storyline and should be there in the whole story well-presented in an artistic shape. I would like to accomplish this task to the best of my knowledge. I don’t want to talk big but I prefer to focus small issues, If you call them so as I count them big and of significance.   

ifilm: And ‘Eight and a Half Minutes’ did not have a monotonous narrative. 

Shahhosseini: In last few years I realized something and that is people’s life rhythm has become way faster than that of TV and cinema. We turn a blind eye to such trend and are absorbed by the images that We found attractive. This is while, our audience is waiting for what comes next. The fact of the matter is we are drifted away from the theme. In my series, ‘Eight and a Half Minutes’, I had a new plan to accelerate the rhythm by using fast cuts which helped the move proceed very quickly and that I tried to present something in every sequence that can hook viewers, encouraging them to watch the next sequence. This just came through hard work.

I also used the soundtrack to transfer part of the feelings my actors wanted to convey.

I should say what is remarkable about the series is that actors playing in the project should know little about the history of their roles. Given that at any moment something may occur to a given role that may contradict with the character’s history and this, in turn, causes contraction for the actor and trouble then in performing their roles.   

AG/AG