This Iranian filmmaker risked his safety for art
Farhad Delaram's debut feature Achilles reflects the dangers of being an artist in Iran
When Farhad Delaram's short film Tattoo won a Crystal Bear at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival, it was a triumph for Iranian filmmaking. But, winning such a prestigious prize was considered a threat by the Iranian authorities.
"When I went back to Iran my life became more difficult," Delaram tells Commotion's Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
Watch | Trailer for Tattoo
Delaram's films follow the difficulties of ordinary people living under the often repressive policies of the Iranian government. After finding international success with Tattoo, the director felt ready to pursue his first feature film. But, Iran's Culture Ministry felt differently.
"They said, 'You can make your first feature film. We're going to make it very hard,'" Delaram remembers. "This is my life, my love.... But life became very difficult in different aspects and I quit filmmaking."
Now Delaram is back, and his first feature Achilles premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this week.
A personal story
Achilles tells the story of Farid, who is nicknamed Achilles. He used to be a filmmaker, but now works nights in a hospital. He eventually meets a woman in the psych ward. She's a political prisoner who has been institutionalized for years and Achilles helps her escape.
It's a distinctly personal tale that reflects Delaram's experiences of his art being stifled.
When you're living in Iran and, if you want to be aware of your society, you can't close your eyes," Delaram says. "[They make it] very difficult to make the art that you want.... I quit filmmaking because I thought, 'I can't affect my own society, so why I should make films?'"
Getting off the ground
"You can resist. It's really difficult, it's dangerous, but you can make your art," he says. "So many artists left Iran in these last 40 years, and especially in the last five years."
Eventually, Achilles was greenlit, but Delaram would have to take some liberties in order for the Iranian authorities to accept his production. The filmmaker would submit a changed script to the Culture Ministry as a means of gaining their approval.
"I'm not the first filmmaker [to do this,]" he says. "The script was very different. I'm not going to say how much, but it was."
Fighting back
Delaram says that his desire to create great art supersedes any potential safety risk.
"I prefer to live with this feeling that I'm just doing the film that I want," he says. "This fighting chose me."
As he prepares to show his film to the world, Delaram keeps the people of Iran in his mind.
"They are fighting every day.... I wanted to give them something."
WATCH | Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud
You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts. And check out our full slate of TIFF 2023 coverage here.
Interview produced by Danielle Grogan
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