Cultures of Resistance Films | Babak Amini: On That Day (Postcards from Iran series) @CulturesofResistance | Uploaded March 2008 | Updated October 2024, 6 hours ago.
Towards the end of 2007, when our fears of a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran were at their peak, Make Films Not War resolved to use images and stories to continue building a cultural bride between our two societies, even as our governments ratcheted up their language of war.
We made contact with award-winning Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi (HALF MOON, TURTLES CAN FLY, A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES), and discussed how best to go about this. We decided to commission five up-and-coming Iranian filmmakers, two of them as young as 10 and 13, to produce a series of short videos on the themes of war and peace. Ghobadi's company, Tehran based MIJ Productions, co-produced.
About 'On That Day'
This spare film tells the story of a young Iraqi exile living in Iran, following her as she travels to Iraq to testify about Saddam's crimes against her family. The landscape is windswept and unforgiving, and her only companion is a lonely border guard, who is curious about why she wants to enter Iraq, wracked as it is by terrorist violence and the U.S. occupation. A minimalist but affecting musical score adds to the scene, as does the expansive countryside, all building up to a surprising end.
Towards the end of 2007, when our fears of a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran were at their peak, Make Films Not War resolved to use images and stories to continue building a cultural bride between our two societies, even as our governments ratcheted up their language of war.
We made contact with award-winning Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi (HALF MOON, TURTLES CAN FLY, A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES), and discussed how best to go about this. We decided to commission five up-and-coming Iranian filmmakers, two of them as young as 10 and 13, to produce a series of short videos on the themes of war and peace. Ghobadi's company, Tehran based MIJ Productions, co-produced.
About 'On That Day'
This spare film tells the story of a young Iraqi exile living in Iran, following her as she travels to Iraq to testify about Saddam's crimes against her family. The landscape is windswept and unforgiving, and her only companion is a lonely border guard, who is curious about why she wants to enter Iraq, wracked as it is by terrorist violence and the U.S. occupation. A minimalist but affecting musical score adds to the scene, as does the expansive countryside, all building up to a surprising end.
