Exclusive with Iran director Mahdavian

Iranian director Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian speaks to ifilm in an exclusive interview about his latest movie ‘The Midday Event’ in Fajr Film Festival.

Following his success in making a documentary titled ‘The Last Days of Winter’, Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian’s ‘Standing In the Dust’ was praised by critics and the audience alike in 2016.   

He is present in the latest edition of Fajr Film Festival with his latest ‘The Midday Event’. The director seems to be the one who likes to break moulds and come up with brand-new ideas in filmmaking.

His new film, an espionage thriller, can be considered different in such genre due to narrative power of the movie.

Here is a rough translation of selected parts from the interview about the movie conducted by ifilm in Persian:

ifilm: What gives you the incentive to go about making historical and documentary films? Particularly, when we consider such films to be harder in terms of production in comparison with other film genres, including comic movies and those just set in an apartment.   

Director: I am into history and Cinema is also tasked to narrate the history of countries. If the new generations begin drifting away from their contemporary history as well as their past, they will become detached from their identity. This issue makes me to direct historical films including my latest.  

ifilm: You already made the film  ‘Standing In the Dust’, how does that compare with ‘ The Midday Event’?

Director: To me, these two films have different settings, though I just hope this will be felt by the audience of my latest film. Historical movies are only effective when the audience has a strong belief in what we do. Such credibility could be shaped for the audience when the director is particular about details.  Lighting, sound, choice of colors in films are important besides scenic and costume designs. These elements make a movie more credible in the eye of the audience.

ifilm: What do you think of the movie in terms of its future box-office earnings? Will it be able to please different audiences?

Director: I believe it will be well-received by the audience.

AG/AG