Mohammad Rasoulof | From the trauma of existence to the trauma of exile

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s abbreviated movie astir a writer successful exile, titled Sense of Water, precocious premiered astatine the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). From moving nether changeless repression successful his homeland to sending his films clandestinely to festivals similar Berlinale and Cannes, for Rasoulof, this is simply a stark departure. Nevertheless, this state has travel astatine a cost. The astir prized possession helium had — the entree to his homeland and the absorption stories helium was capable to archer — has been seized from him.

In Sense of Water, a forty-minute exploration of migrant alienation and connection politics, a writer contemplates what it means to beryllium erstwhile 1 indispensable rewire their knowing of words successful a overseas language. It follows an Iranian writer whose writer’s artifact and displacement trauma are compounded by his travails with learning a overseas language.

“I started contemplating the affectional worth of words,” Rasoulof said astatine the property league successful Rotterdam to unveil the film. “That is the basal of the movie — of trying to recognize the connection and researching its effect connected us.” The task arose retired of a programme called Displacement Film Fund, heralded by UNHCR ambassador Cate Blanchett. He received backing to the tune of 100K successful euros (around 10 crores), on with different displaced directors from crossed the satellite including from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia.

“There is an urgency to get these stories out. That’s wherefore we decided connected the abbreviated movie format,” said Blanchett connected the sidelines of the festival.

In Iran, nary assemblage is much unsafe than filmmaking. Yet moving nether terrible duress, Iranian films person captured everything from elemental pleasures of beingness nether a authorities (My Favourite Cake, 2024) to subversive themes similar underground absorption (No End, 2022) to darkly comic household roadworthy trips to the borderline to smuggle a household subordinate retired of the state (Hit the Road, 2021) . Unsurprisingly astatine each movie festival, they deservedly proceed to triumph accolades.

But precise fewer directors person navigated the treacherous way of filmmaking, littered with landmines of prosecution from location arrests to prolonged jailtime. Asghar Farhadi juggles some the responsibilities — to abide by and to marque award-winning films admirably, without getting successful the atrocious books of the regime. Jafar Panahi, connected the different hand, goes from situation to location apprehension and shooting successful secret, surviving his beingness arsenic an unparalleled filmmaking rebel.

Perhaps nary Iranian filmmaker understands exile similar Mohammad Rasoulof. The details are sparse, but Rasoulof dramatically escaped Iran with a transcript of his movie The Seed of the Sacred Fig to amusement astatine the Cannes movie festival successful 2024, wherever it won the Special Jury Prize. He has been surviving successful exile successful Hamburg, Germany since then.

In retrospect, Rasoulof ne'er meant to permission his location country. Speaking to the German media backmost successful 2019, conscionable earlier his movie There is nary Evil won the Golden Bear, helium struck a defiant chord. “Iran is my home, the state and the civilization I love. This is wherever my begetter and parent live, the radical I attraction about. My roots are and stay successful Iran. Why should I tally away?” helium questioned. He quoted the renowned precocious filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, who erstwhile said that “a histrion could not beryllium transplanted.”

Needless to mention, helium has intelligibly toiled with what has not been an casual decision.

It’s small astonishment that the trauma of displacement has softly shaped Rasoulof’s caller works. Since his determination to Germany, adjacent arsenic helium has travelled each implicit the satellite judging films astatine planetary festivals, Rasoulof has besides softly enactment retired caller work. More interestingly, his caller enactment is besides looking inward, drafting from themes of freedom, location and the displacement and autonomy of an artist.

His play Destination: Origin debuted successful Berlin precocious past twelvemonth and has travelled astir the state to assorted cities since then. In it, helium collaborates with actors who worked with him successful his award-winning The Seed of the Sacred Fig — Setareh Maleki, Mahsa Rostami, and Niousha Akhshi — who near Iran with him.

The play, a blend of monologues, conversations betwixt the exiled, and modern creation choreography, centres astir 3 women whose travel it traces from Iran to Berlin. They navigate the unchartered territory of state portion reliving the ordeal of flight successful the play.

In Rotterdam, the 2nd variation of the Displacement Film Fund has been announced by Blanchett. It’s unclear whether Rasoulof thinks Sense of Water has the imaginable to go a full-length diagnostic 1 day. He is preoccupied with the unrest successful Iran and the regime’s brutal quelling of protests. “I’m acrophobic astir the disturbing events happening successful my country,” helium said successful Rotterdam.

Back location successful Germany, helium tin present freely be Berlinale planetary movie festival that kickstarts this week.

There is crushed to judge Rasoulof’s aboriginal enactment volition predominantly research themes of exile adjacent if learning a caller connection is simply a stumbling block. When asked astir the messaging in Sense of Water, helium has this to say: “To everyone who is surviving successful this concern (of exile), I privation to say, yes, we tin interruption the partition of language.”