Darius Farhang: As long as storytelling prevails in the world, cinema will exist

According to Fars News Agency, the second session of “Acting and Directing in Cinema Workshop” was held yesterday evening with the presence of Dariush Farhang in Ferdous Hall of “Iranian Cinema Museum”.

At the beginning of his speech, Dariush Farhang said: Cinema began in 1995, when the Lumiere brothers showed their one-reel film called “The Arrival of the Train at the Station” in an underground cafe. An interesting and surprising event that had a special effect on the audience, so that they bent their heads or hid behind the seats to avoid the accident with the train.

He continued: Cinema is like a train that does not intend to stop and continues to move between different stations, and people only have a chance to get on board once, and those who get off, cannot continue the journey. The movement of this train is just like life and it passes through different routes and stations, and in the meantime, some people board and others get off, and this train passes through the heart of cinema history.

Farhang stated that as long as stories and storytelling prevail in the world, cinema will exist and said: During this long journey, we reached the silent cinema where several geniuses were acting. including “Charlie Chaplin”, “Harold Lloyd” and “Buster Keaton” who created works with exemplary creativity. Watching every moment of Chaplin’s films is full of creativity, wonder and beauty. Such subtleties are not accidental, but these people are geniuses and have personal tricks, and that’s why they will always last.

We must seek to give meaning to life

Farhang continued: The likes of “Laurence Olivier” and “Paul Scofield” entered this art from the world of theater and added value to cinema, and since then, two types of actors are common in cinema. Type acting and character acting. The actors of the type were masters in their work, and there have been successful examples of it in Iranian cinema, which attracted the attention and interest of the audience. Gradually, acting became complex and acquired different psychological and sociological dimensions. The cinema train is still moving and reaches different stations that are no longer accountable to the heroes who defend the oppressed. As a result, the anti-hero issue arose in the field of characterization, and actors such as “Robert De Niro” and “Al Pacino” boosted this profession. These greats, along with people like Clint Eastwood, continue to work and give credit to this art.

He continued: “The important question is, what should be done in order to remain in the history of cinema, so that we are remembered well?” We should look for a way to give meaning to life with whatever amount of savings we have. The duty of the artist in the first place is to add something to this world and try not to subtract anything from it.

Farhanak emphasized: Our main motto should not be forgotten in any form of acting. This slogan consists of questions such as “What are we saying? what do we hear Who do we call? how do we say why do we say where do we say What are we going to do? Who do we hear from? How do we hear? Why do we hear? Where do we hear?” Each of these sentences has a universal meaning that is the key word of acting, and if we do not follow them, we will not become a good actor.

Cinema means to remove

Dariush Farhang also said about the actor’s approach to a role: Actors usually know the character in two ways. In this world and within all human beings, there are common human emotions such as courage, kindness, hatred, love, etc., which can be strengthened in oneself and used in playing their role. Sometimes we approach the character from the outside and through “physics”, that’s why I recommend you to always look around you. In making a movie, the speed of action is an important issue and we must be able to make the most of the available facilities. Cinema means to remove. Remember that addition never gets us anywhere.

He continued: We have to learn forever and the one who thinks he knows everything and what he knows is enough, the beginning of his downfall will happen.

While sharing his experiences and learnings with the students, the director of the series “Sultan and Shaban” said: We should think about how to act in “silence” so that we can focus on the moment that arises and develop it.

Mentioning a memory from his student days, he said: In my youth, I found a poster of Marlon Brando and put it next to the mirror at home, and I often compared his appearance with myself and tried to imitate even his hairstyle. Brando usually answered questions late in the dialogue with the opposite actor, and I tried to imitate his way of speaking. Until one day I realized that I have nothing in common with Brando and I said to myself “Good or bad, you go be yourself…”. Art always starts with imitation, but if it stops there, there will always be someone better than you.

Farhang noted: Don’t rush to do anything in acting and move slowly and steadily and do the actions. From the very beginning of the plan, we must try to attract the viewer’s attention and focus our attention on the action we are doing.

He added: Watching a movie is a feast and we invite you to see us. A feast must have its shining moments, otherwise it will be useless. Note that dialogue is different from dialogue. Everyday conversations should not enter the dialogue field. A close-up should never be taken of the person speaking the dialogue. Hitchcock is a master of cinema in all fields. He says that if there is a bomb under the table and someone points to it, it does not work for the drama, but the correct form is that the characters are not aware of its existence.

In cinema, don’t rely only on conveying the message

Saying that the most important issue in acting is “how to say”, Farhang continued: As an actor, any feeling you express is transferred to the other person. In movies, I sometimes face a situation where the actors do not have a proper communication and understanding towards each other and only memorize and deliver their dialogues. This is the worst kind of acting. In the film, we should not focus only on conveying different messages. Childizing the audience is the wrong thing that television does these days. The audience has intelligence and insight, and the lifeless writing on the paper should be given some kind of soul and freshness. Conversation should become dialogue and try to apply this importance in your writings.

In the final part of his talk in this workshop, which lasted more than three hours, Dariush Farhang stated: In cinema, every shot is a promise for the next shot and invites you to follow the continuation of the story. At the same time, each plan completes the previous plan, and the components are placed next to each other and create a scene, and the scenes will be the creator of the sequence.

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