iFilm's exclusive report on ‘Parallel Shadows’

Watch iFilm's exclusive report on ‘Parallel Shadows’, directed by Asghar Naeemi and starring actors Abolfazl Pour-Arab, Shahab Hosseini and actress Samira Hassanpour.

Below are highlights of the report.

Pour-Arab: I recommend that all families go and see this film. They must see it. I’ve worked in the cinema industry for a long time and I’ve never told anyone to go and see my film. But now I say you should go and see ‘Parallel Shadows’.

Hassanpour: It has a romantic atmosphere, a modern, social atmosphere and it revolves around a girl’s emotions. I should be careful not to let the cat out of the bag, but it’s about a girl who meets a man who is more experienced than her and is older than her.

Seeing this film might open a new door to them, they might be able to look at life differently.

I hope this film is warmly welcomed and people like it.

iFilm: An interesting point about this movie is the appearance of a star from the 90s, is Abolfazl Pour-Arab’s comeback after 10 years. And he still proves that he’s still popular among moviegoers. And this 10 year gap has made him even more professional.

Pour-Arab: I didn’t go to come back. In fact, I left to stay away for good because I was sick and I was going to die, but God didn’t want me to die; it was due to my parents or people’s prayers or whatever the reason, I didn’t die.

‘Parallel Shadows’ was the first film I was in after my illness and I accepted to be in this film because I had already worked with the crew.

I didn’t think much about whether I should take a role or not in ‘Parallel Shadows’. I only wanted to be with my friends; it was the most that mattered to me.

After that long of an absence and a loss in trust in myself, I was only looking for a safe zone.

Hassanpour: When this chance is offered to you to play alongside a veteran star…everyone knows the cinema of Iran with these great stars, the long queues that would line up in front of the cinema halls to see their films and the cinema industry flourished because of them…I’m proud to costar with him.

Pour-Arab: I had many problems while acting in this movie. I told Mr. Tavakolnia and Naeemi and the other guys that I’ve been away from the job for a long time and I needed practice. I asked them to help me.

Sometimes, I would forget a simple dialogue and we tried really hard to film the scene and Asghar helped me.

Hassanpour: Usually, veteran stars and superstars have some special characteristics that turn them into stars. They are really nice and kind and you never feel that you’re inexperienced compared to them or you’re an amateur or a newcomer. I didn’t feel that way when I was costarring with him. I felt relaxed, I realized how much he can help me as my costar and how easily I could connect with him. I was really sweet.

Pour-Arab: It was a new experience for me because the cinema industry has changed a lot. Today’s cinema industry is really different from the one I used to work in at the time. It changed a lot; you can’t compare it.

Considering how people behave and the storylines, I don’t mean that it’s bad, no. It’s a different kind of cinema industry that I was not a part of back then.

iFilm: The casting of this movie seems to be great. We’ve got Abolfazl Pour-Arab, we’ve got Samira Hassanpour and Shahab Hosseini in this movie.

Pour-Arab: Shahab Hosseini really worked hard in the series ‘Shahrzad’. Whenever he came to the set, he had already thought about the scene. He was the same in this movie. We enjoyed his presence. The role Shahab Hosseini took was too short for him, but he did it just because of me, Mr. Tavakolnia and because of our friendship.

Samira Hassanpour did really well; she was a professional.

Hassanpour: The feeling she had toward life, her poetic viewpoint, her self-confidence…she wants to stand on her own feet, the difficulties she’s going through but doesn’t complain, the womanhood and manhood that can exist in a woman; I don’t know how to put it, to be able to stand on her own feet. I think we share these characteristics.

Pour-Arab: This is the first film I’m costarring with Samira Hassanpour, she is a very smart actress.

AI/AI