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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Venice Film Festival to showcase two films shaped by the war in Iran

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources New plan
  • Venice will premiere “A Bit of Light” and “Falling House,” two films depicting the impact of war and political pressure in Iran.
  • The productions faced restrictions, secret filming and disruptions that forced some work to move from Iran to Istanbul, Germany and the United States.
  • Their producers and directors are now living in exile and fear Iran’s crackdown will prevent similar major films from being made there.

Two films arriving at the Venice Film Festival offer sharply different views of life under pressure in Iran. “A Bit of Light” follows a doctor who loses faith in the future after Iranian authorities arrest him and close his medical practice in Tehran. “Falling House” follows a modest family on the outskirts of the capital as a redevelopment project destroys its home.

The films share a sense of entrapment. “Both films deal with this feeling of being trapped and what do you do when you’re inside a system where there’s really no way out?” said producer Odessa Rae, who worked on both projects. In “A Bit of Light,” a pivotal scene includes the line, “This Trump guy is threatening to bomb here every day.”

Both films deal with this feeling of being trapped and what do you do when you’re inside a system where there’s really no way out?

· Odessa RaeThe producer described the shared theme of the two films being shown in Venice.

The productions were made under severe restrictions. “Falling House” was filmed secretly in Iran. To secure permission to shoot in Tehran, producer Milad Khosravi, an Iranian now running Seven Springs Pictures in Istanbul, had to alter the script submitted to the government. After about 70 days of filming, the team got the footage out of Iran just before the war began, then completed post-production and some scenes in Germany.

This Trump guy is threatening to bomb here every day.

· An unnamed character in “A Bit of Light”The line appears in a pivotal scene involving the doctor at the center of the film.

Khosravi said “A Bit of Light” also involved a complex production in Tehran and Istanbul. When the United States first attacked Iran in February, the physical production moved to the United States. Khosravi, Iranian director Ali Asgari and director Mohsen Gharaei now live in exile and are promoting the films’ Venice premieres. A travel ban has made them question whether they can promote the films in the United States.

Rae and Khosravi said the crackdown means Iran is unlikely to release more major films like “Falling House.” Khosravi said he would nevertheless try to bring similar stories abroad and keep the country’s film industry alive.

We had a really complex situation shooting the film both in Tehran and Istanbul.

· Milad KhosraviThe producer described the difficulties of making “A Bit of Light.”
About this summary

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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