About the importance and impact of the short film in the future of cinema/unknown creators of pure ideas

Charso Press: Every year during the Tehran Short Film Festival, when we sit down to watch the works of young directors and flip through the different and sometimes new thoughts and ideas of filmmakers, it comes to mind that the next generation of Iranian cinematographers will emerge from among these new and innovative young people. , young people full of passion and energy and with sometimes astonishing creativity who present a huge world of thought to the audience in a few minutes. These young filmmakers sometimes come up with such original and creative ideas in their works and deliver such big words to the audience in their small format and few-minute films that remain in the mind for years. The works not only have a high and admirable imagination, but even in terms of structure, they have a kind of surprise for the audience. Films that are narrated in one minute, but their artistic importance is no less than a feature film. You can watch them over and over and enjoy their storytelling and narrating without getting tired. We can definitely say that insistence on pure ideas and boldness in implementing their ideas and lack of a commercial outlook are the main signs of this cinema and the distinctive characteristics of its directors. Which serious cinema audience could have forgotten that Abbas Kiarostami, Nasser Taqwai, Masoud Kimiaei, Dariush Mehrjooi, Rakhshan Bani-Etamad, Asghar Farhadi, Mahmoud Kalari, Shahram Makri, Majid Barzgar, Saeed Raushi and many others came from this short and experimental cinema. And did they leave important and lasting works for future generations and the history of Iranian cinema?

One of the cinema managers (Hashem Mirzakhani, CEO of Cinema Shahr Institute) said: Today, more than 80% of professional cinema is made up of cinematographers who were introduced from this event. Even some officials and directors of the cinema organization have been among the winners of the Tehran Short Film Festival. They shined in this event and now they are working in the field of cinema.

If making short films would make money, I would always make them
But what is important about short cinema and the making of short films is whether the status of short films is taken as seriously as the bright future it can offer to young filmmakers.
Kaveh Sajjadi Hosseini is one of the directors known as a professional filmmaker. He has been working in the field of making feature films for many years, but he still has his eye on short films. Sajjadi Hosseini, unlike many filmmakers who look at making a short film as a step and a ladder to achieve the success of a feature film, believes that a short film is not a step to make a feature film or to reach a situation, but is a situation itself and a type of cinema. Just as thoughtful, remarkable and worthy of appreciation. He says to Etamad: “A filmmaker is a filmmaker; The important thing is the worldview and view that is current in the film. Now this word is either said in less time or narrated in the form of a long film.

He continues: “In my opinion, filmmakers can say their words and raise their concerns much more freely and easily when making a short film. Because in the making of short films, capital does not affect and there is no stress of financial return. The director takes more risks for his experience, and this in itself causes agility and dynamism in the work. When the filmmaker is not faced with a superior view, he will express his own words and views in the film, and this will cause creativity and progress and a new view.

In another part of his talk, Sajjadi mentions censorship and auditing in short films, and pointing out that short filmmakers struggle with censorship as much as feature filmmakers, he explains: these young people learn how to deal with censorship at the beginning of the journey. to work and these limitations create creativity.

In the continuation of his speech, the director of the movie “Baser” points to the change of direction that the directors of short films have to feature films and says: “Since short films do not have an undefined income generation and income escape, filmmakers change their direction and go to long and professional films for a living. They become inclined and are somehow forced to make a feature film. I myself, if I earned money and was supported by short films, I would always make short films and work with the same special liberation and freedom that exists in this field; But as you mentioned at the beginning of your speech, another thing that exists in changing the direction of the short film is that the filmmaker will not be seen until he makes a feature film and, in a sense, the artistic community will not accept him. No matter how many awards he gets in big gatherings, after a while he becomes normal and it’s as if nothing happened to him! As a result, the filmmaker is forced to turn to feature films to be seen. It can be seen when he makes a feature film and the impact of his words can be felt more. Of course, this is not only related to Iranian cinema, but all over the world there is an excitement of making feature films for short filmmakers.

In another part of his talk, he mentions the difficulty of making a short film and reminds that when a director makes a feature film, he realizes how much more difficult it is to make a short film than a feature film. Because he must have a correct and accurate look at a certain time, which includes creativity and experience.

At the end of his speech, the director of the movie “Buffalo” points to the choice of topics and themes that short filmmakers should choose and says: “My advice is that those interested in making short films, if they want to make a film, move with the pulse and pain of society and based on that, choose the topic of their film and make a short film; Because the expiration date of these types of films never expires; But if the film maker wants to be political or include his personal point of view in the film, his film will be subject to time and will not be particularly effective in Iranian cinema. In my opinion, the filmmaker should convey the pain of his society and know the social themes of the day.

Do not use big names in your film
One of the things that have always been considered by young filmmakers in making short films is that they have used well-known faces to introduce their films. Of course, another reason can be mentioned for their choice and that is to improve the quality of their work. Reza Kianian pointed out an important point in this regard at the specialized meeting “Ask the Director”, he said: “When you want to make a short film, do not use the actor and cinematographer with a name because when your film is finished, for example, they will say that Mr. Clary made the film Is! So try to show your work in your film. I have to say this too if you want [فقط] Keep one thing in mind, you are going wrong. So you have to be creative; As long as you know your world. Of course, all the words I said are not laws at all.”

Why should I not help young talents?
But Babak Karimi, a well-known actor of Iranian cinema who has many collaborations with short film makers, has a different opinion from Kayanian. Regarding the importance of taking short films seriously, he told “Etemad”: “In my opinion, making short films is a prelude to smoothing the path of making feature films for directors, and all the greats of Iranian and world cinema started from short films one day.”

In response to this actor’s answer, does he believe that short film makers should not depend on well-known actors in making their films? He says: “Why shouldn’t we help young talents? One day we were also young and in order for our talent and ability to be seen, elders and other well-known people helped us; Therefore, we are also obliged to help the enthusiasts who have talent and ability, and I feel responsible in myself that whenever I see a spark of intelligence and genius in a young person, I help him to grow. What is wrong with Mr. So-and-so, who is a well-known face, when he discovers a talent, to represent this young talent?”

The actor of the film “Jedai Nader az Simin” continues: “When the script of a short film is good, the director is talented and I have free time, I will definitely cooperate with short film makers. “Sometimes if I’m busy, the collaboration doesn’t happen, but sometimes I might work on three short films in a row.”

This actor explains about the importance of taking the short film seriously and its impact on the future generations of cinema: “The short film should be taken very seriously; Because the future of Iranian cinema is in the hands of these short film makers. We must look for young and creative talents. We leave for a day and they come to work. “Today’s youth have the signs of tomorrow’s cinema.”

Karimi asked why European football is so great? He says: “Because the big teams have a youth team next to them and they find talent there, many of today’s big team champions started from these young teams and someone is monitoring them. In world football, there are people called observers. These observers in the cities, in schools and in the suburbs constantly observe and discover talents. That is why the European football team is always leading. We should adopt such a method in Iranian cinema and look for talents in the cities. I think it is better to pick the fruit from the tree instead of buying its compote.

According to this actor, if we are interested in the future of Iranian cinema, we should seek to discover young, innovative and innovative talents: “Today, Iranian cinema producers can discover talents by attending this festival, but unfortunately, Iranian cinema is such that everyone is looking for Talent is assured, not creative discovery. I taught in Italy for many years. Many of the young Italians who are famous in Italian cinema today were my students.

The empty place of the cameras on the deck of the barge, among the nomads and so on…
Today, with a small search in Iranian cinema, we see that many professional Iranian cinematographers are from different cities of Iran, but have you ever thought about why most Iranian films are made in the capital? The director, who is originally from Kermanshahi and incidentally known, doesn’t present a story about the people of this city in his works? Why?

By the way, one of the criticisms of the films of this year’s festival is that either the filmmakers are influenced by feature films, or they use stories that are directed to the center of Tehran, and the topics are mostly about urban issues, love triangles, etc. This is why they refrain from paying attention to the stories that tell the stories and problems of all regions of Iran. Ahmadreza Darwish, a well-known director of Iranian cinema, pointed out an important point during the meeting of the Tehran Short Film Festival and said: “Iran is not only Tehran, so break the monopoly.” He continues: “Just as in feature films, issues such as capital prevent cameras from being placed in different parts of Iran, here too, our camera does not cover all areas. For example, our camera is not on the deck, barge or among the nomads. Most of the topics are about urban issues, love triangles, etc. The root of this issue goes back to our cultural issues, and part of it is focused on the budget, and this is how the issues are limited. If youth cinema can act in terms of quantity and support in such a way that young people produce and make a film that has a less seen flavor, it would be better and it would be a creative choice. So, I am asking my friends to support those who have paid attention to the city, culture and in general Iranianness and homeland in the movies. Until this monopoly is broken, because Iran is not only Tehran, unfortunately, due to cultural injustice, some people in the cities are considered second- and third-class citizens.”

Short film festival and a reminder
But these days, during the 39th festival, an important point that is very noticeable and can be planned is the crowded halls of this event, and the most important reason for this huge volume in Mellat Cinema Campus is related to the free viewing of films of this international event. More than anything else, this shows that cinema is still one of the most important forms of entertainment for people. Noteworthy are some cinematographers who think that cinemas are going to close and have no audience! The crowds these days of the short film festival show that if this art is presented to the audience with a reasonable ticket price and a good quality film, it will have its audience.