ifilm's exclusive report on Iranian feature ‘Cousins’

Watch ifilm's exclusive report on the Iranian feature film ‘Cousins’ directed by Rouhangiz Shams and produced by Qorban Mohammad-Pour, starring Maryam Amir-Jalai and Nasim Forough.

Below are highlights of the report.

ifilm: ‘Cousins’ has been written based on a screenplay written by Qorban Mohammad-Pour.

Rouhangiz Shams: The initial decisions were made by Mr. Mohammad-Pour...

We couldn’t work on it due to some reasons. And then we made the decision to make this one. It was proposed by Mr. Mohammad-Pour.

Qorban Mohammad-Pour: Based on my friendship with her husband, Mr. Mahmoud Gholami, we helped her make her first movie because you know making a first movie is very challenging. You have to have a sponsor to make your first movie.

That’s why I helped her as a friend to make her first movie.

And I’d rather it be one of my own screenplays so it’ll gain success at the box office, because it means a lot to first-time filmmakers to draw attention because it will pave the way for them.

If they fail at the box office, the producers won’t come to them or they’ll come but not so much. So, I proposed ‘Cousins’ to her and then we began the project.

ifilm: Mrs. Shams has been active in the cinema industry in Iran for years now. She has mostly been an assistant and a program manager. She has chosen a comedy for her first movie.

Qorban Mohammad-Pour: You know, it’s up to the director. She has to decide.

Rouhangiz Shams: Many ask this question because the genre of the short and medium-length movies that I’ve made is completely different with this movie’s. One part of it is because of the message it conveyed. If you pay close attention, you see that the divorce rate is very high in our society. It can have many different reasons. It had a message for people, that you don’t have to get a divorce just for any reason. It was to put a stop to this issue.

ifilm: Now why should we chose and watch ‘Cousins’ when we go to the cinema halls?

Nasim Forough: I think in the hustle and bustle of our society, if a director or filmmaker can make people laugh and gather families together, so they leave the cinema halls in a good mood. These are convincing reasons for choosing a comedy like ‘Cousins’ or any other comedy. I think our society needs such movies considering the current situation.

MG/AI/AG