ifilm exclusive interview with Ateneh Faqih-Nasiri

ifilm snags an exclusive interview with Iran actress Ateneh Faqih-Nasiri who is fighting with MS disease.

Faqih-Nasiri is among those actors who took the right path in acting career and as she believes she managed to fulfill her expectations.

Faqih-Nasiri spent her childhood in the northern Iranian city of Chalous.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the Islamic Azad University.

She made her cinematic debut in 1991 with the film ‘Pickpockets Don’t Go to Heaven’.

Her performance in the television series ‘Aunt Sara’ (1992) attracted the attention of the audiences and by acting in ‘The Green House’ (1996) she gained nationwide popularity.

Some of the movies in which she has appeared include ‘I Like the Earth’ (1993), ‘Kakadu’ (1994) and ‘That Man Came’ (2007).

Faqih Nasiri has also played roles in the television films ‘Can You Hear Me Mom?’ (2007), ‘Principals of Persuasion’ (2009) and ‘Fiction and Reality’ (2009).

Among the series in which she has performed are ‘The Magic Coat’ (1999), ‘The Story of a City’ (1999), ‘Zero Degree Turn’ (2007) and ‘Injury’ (2010).

Faqih Nasiri received a Crystal Simorgh nomination from the Fajr International Film Festival for her performance in ‘In Cold Blood’ (1995).

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

ifilm: Ms Faqih-Nasiri, you used to be quite active in acting, like 5 or 6 years back, what is the reason for becoming less active in these years. You are far less of a presence in Iranian Cinema and Television.

Faqih-Nasiri: Well, I don’t want to accpert any role just foe being in cinema. I had some offers to play roles in films, but they’re weak; so to speak, they didn’t do it for me.   Acting offers for playing roles in Television are seemingly more attractive in my case and eventually I opt for them.  Plus, everyone should expect as much as it seems attainable. I managed to meet my expectations.

ifilm: What is your approach to select a role in a series given that you did great performances in series such as 'The Green House’ and ‘The Magic Coat’.

Faqih-Nasiri: I should say that previously, the amount of production was well over what we have now. The settings for ‘The Green House’ and ‘The Magic Coat’ were simple and the messages were conveyed to the audience without complexity, better managing to win people’s hearts. Such series are still able to absorb the audience. I did not take on a specific path and luckily I could secure some roles in good series.

ifilm: You learnt about your disease while playing a TV series. Can you walk us through what happened?

Faqih-Nasiri: Sure, when I was shooting a scene for a series, I found out I couldn’t walk properly in a specific direction. The day after, I went to the pool and there I fell down. Ultimately, I went for a medical test and got hospitalized. There, I was told I have MS.

ifilm: I read somewhere you said, “MS is a blessing for me!”

Faqih-Nasiri: I’m just not able to say things without believing in them. I know that what I said may seem to be like a motto, though I should say the disease made me stronger.

ifilm: How is your health condition now?

Faqih-Nasiri: I am pretty good at the moment and well managed my meditional condition with no dip in my morale. Thank God I live in a big happy family with positive energy as they give to me every day.

ifilm: Are your currently engaged in any project?

Faqih-Nasiri: I am now busy with a series named ‘Shahrzad’ at the helm of Iranian director Hassan Fathi. In the series, I still don’t know if I would make a cameo appearance, but I’ll have a different role for sure, playing opposite Reza Kianian and Roya Nonahali.

In the meantime, I am supposed to appear in the second season of Soroush Sehhat’s ‘Bachelor's Degree Holders’ which is a comic one. In the series I will play the role of a lady who is related to the leading actor’s fiancée. Behnam Tashakor will be playing opposite me in the series.

AG/AG