Derakhshandeh wishes to see Soleimani’s statue in urban spaces

Iran’s prominent filmmaker Pouran Derakhshandeh says she wishes to see a statue of Iran's top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in urban spaces across the country.

Commenting on a competition aimed to pay homage to the martyrs of the eight-year Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, Derakhshandeh said keeping the memory of the martyrs alive can help highlight concepts such as altruism and self-sacrifice.

The competition is about making a memorial for those lost their lives during the 1980-88 war, which is commemorated in Iran every year as the eight years of Sacred Defense.

Derakhshandeh added that statues and memorials which are made by contenders in such competitions and erected in public places are a kind of artistic advertisement that helps promote self-sacrifice.

She noted that such events as well as festivals and films help promote altruism and self-sacrifice and encourage people to help each other.

The 69-year-old director noted that there are many figures who took part in the Iraq-imposed war on Iran whose statues must be put in public places.

“Personally, I would like to see a statue of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who left a big impression on people’s hearts, in the urban space,” she said.

Lt. Gen. Soleimani, who was the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), was assassinated along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), as well as eight other people in a US drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport early on January 3.

Derakhshandeh also referred to health workers who are fighting the coronavirus as an example of self-sacrifice in modern-day.

Derakhshandeh was the first female filmmaker following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

She made her directorial debut with ‘The Relationship’ in 1986, which was awarded at Giffoney Film Festival in Italy.

Her films, including ‘Little Bird of Happiness’, received many awards.

Derakhshandeh is a member of the International Center of Films for Children and Young People, Women in Film and Independent Filmmaker Project in the United States.

She has also served on juries at various Iranian and international film festivals.

SQ/FM