8th Annual Lady Filmmakers Festival Beverly Hills - Silence
A deaf young mother saves another woman's life.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Maryam Pirband
Watch Silence here:
Congratulations! Why are you making your film?
Thank you very much! Well ...I don't make my films because I am a filmmaker. To be honest, as an Iranian woman who grew up in a society with a lot of different restrictions, I always had a lot of issues to say and finally I found a way I could say them. Filmmaking is my language. An international language that I can tell my stories through. I make films to show what I have in my mind and when I receive feed back communication starts This is what I've done in the past 9 years in my 15 films and in this film SILENCE I have a deaf young mother with a story.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you want to see a young woman with a disability who does a hard job to live with her daughter you can see this film. I always respect audiences, I really love to hear from them. If they do not watch my films and send feed back I never promote them. I make my film and let it start a conversation. It will find the way by itself, my characters start to talk and touch audiences. I just sit and watch.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Living in the right way is what I want to say in this film. Even if you have a disability. And this is an international theme. My character is washing outside her high buildings on ropes and with wearing that much hijab it seems impossible. In the opening scene we can see a man does not want to let her do this because he says she is a woman! (Iranian kind of thinking). She starts her daily job and passing every floor of the building from out side, all people inside are shocked. Then we see a man opening a window and he wants to encourage her to have an affair with him to make some money. He thinks it is better than doing that hard job but she ignores him. Now we see her text messages to her little daughter to make sure she eats lunch.so she is a mother. At another level, passing suddenly, she sees through the window a crazy man killing a woman !
She saves her !
So in SILENCE we can see how a human can live in the right way and even help others. Even in her hard situation as a deaf person in a society like that.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
This story was in my mind when I did stunt work and directed action films. I am the first Iranian stunt female but I am also a director and actress and did stunt work just for fun. When I did rapple and came down from high buildings this story was born in my mind. I started to shape it and think about the character. I wanted my character to be a woman doing this job and in Iran this is odd suddenly I decided to make it even more odd, having her with a disability. I went to some organizations relating to them and watching them then realized how my character could be realized. Those days I had a fixed column in a public news paper ( SYAEH ). I wrote minimal scripts for them. I finished this script and decided to publish it there. I had a lot of feed back about it and then a producer contacted me and asked me: “Can you direct what you wrote in this script?!” and I said “ Yes;”
So we started. Every one wants to know about the actress! Who is a professional in rope job and rapple. She was in our stunt team too and she is a good actress also. It was a hard job shooting this short film especially the limitations we had there but we did it. And in two and a half days we finished shooting.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
First of all being a woman and making such a film in my country is some how different and I had wonderful feedback. But the most interesting ones was related to the scene that I jumped out of the window on the 4th floor of that building and the deaf girl hugs me. I had to play that role and did the stunt because I couldn't find another actress who could do it. It was funny because at its first film festival I was awarded for best directing and the jury wanted to see me and tell me : “girl! We know you love your work but please do not kill yourself for filmmaking!"
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Yes of course I need that feed back - In my next script you can see the changes.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
As a filmmaker I want my movie to promote better and bigger thingsI respect and need any stage and space who lets me connect more to audiences and other filmmakers and in www.wearemovingstories.com I think it will happen in the best way.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Do not be surprised if I say all of them . I want my film to travel to different people's eyes and be seen more. The exact way I spent in all my past years working in cinema and I am satisfied with it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
To make people look at a woman as a human who can do what ever she wants, to make my society respect women as they are and not look at them as slaves. I suffer a lot living between this kind of thinking in that area. I know a lot of clever, powerful women in prisons they call home! Made by the society and men. They melt little by little inside themselves like candles and can never touch their wishes and desires .
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What do you think about hanging a deaf woman on a rope from her height with so many clothes on?!
Interview: September 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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SILENCE
A deaf young mother saves another woman's life.
Length: 7MIN
Director: MARYAM PIRBAND
Producer: Job International Film Festival
Writer: MARYAM PIRBAND
About the writer, director and producer:
Maryam Pirband is a writer/director/producer who directed 15 documentary and short films and one popular T.V series and numerous commercials. Her films participated in many International and national film festivals around the world, mostly awarded for directing. Also she has participated in many festival juries and has headed juries around the world. Here is a small list:
JURY PANEL MEMBER OF INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
2010-2016
International/national Jury Panel Member, in charge of selection of various festivals such as:
Main Jury Member International AOF Film Festival 2016
Main Jury Member International Salman Film Festival 2016
Selection Committee member of Erbil International Film Festival, 2014
Main Jury member ,Nihal Short Film Festival, 2013
Head of the Jury Panel Team of The Women Short Film Festival, 2013
Main Jury member ,Solaymanieh Chira Documentary Film Festival, 2013
Main Jury member , Salamat Film Festival, 2014
Administrative Manager ,ASA International Film Festival 2010
Movie DIRECTOR, SCRIPTWRITER AND PRODUCER
2006 – Present
Directed, written and produced numerous internationally and nationally acclaimed titles such as:
The Smell of Life (Short Film;2006): Director and Producer
Caravan (Documentary Film;2006): Director, Scriptwriter and Producer
Sometimes I miss Myself (Short Film; 2007)-Director
Kimia's Murmur (Documentary Film; 2007): Director and Scriptwriter
Chain of Enthusiasm (Documentary Film;2008): Director and Scriptwriter
P6 (Short Film;2009): Director, Scriptwriter and Producer
The House Is Safe (Short Film; 2010): Director and Scriptwriter
Shoot (Short Film; 2010): Director and Scriptwriter
Hanaii (Documentary Film;2011)-Director, Scriptwriter and Producer
I Am the Stern (Documentary Film;2008 -2012)-Director, Co-Scriptwriter and Producer
Dance With Me (Short Film; 2012): Director, Scriptwriter and Producer
Silence (short film 2013): Director, Scriptwriter
A Short Mistake (short film 2013): Director
My Portion (short documentary 2014): Director, writer, producer
Sel & Coin (documentary 90 min, 2014): Director, Head of Research Team, Writer
Perplexity ( TV series 2015): Director , writer , Research
Fermysk (Short Film 2016) : Writer
PROFESSIONAL FILM AND CINEMA ACTING
Performed leading and supporting roles in numerous movie productions such as:
Stranger (Feature Film; by Masoud Rashidi.2006)
Life Murmur (Feature Film; by Mostafa Valiabdi.2007)
Straight to heaven (Feature Film; by Hosein Tabrizi.2007)
Passenger (Short Film; by Mohammad Ali Dustar..2008)
I, You, He (Feature Film; by Sadegh Parvin Ashtiani.2008)
Night of stories (Feature Film; by Sadegh Parvin Ashtiani. 2008)
Friends (Tele-Theatre; by Mohammad Noravesh.2009)
Delkhun (Feature Film; by Mohammad Reza Rahman.2009)
Divorce in Extra Time a (Comedy TV Series; by Mohammad Hosein Latifi.2009)
Nose (Feature Film; by Farzad Motamen.2010)
Victim (Feature Film; by Hossein Saharkhiz2010)
Red garden (Feature Film; by Amir Samavati.2010)
It Can Be The Last (Feature Film; by Jamshid Mahmudi.2010)
Innocent Like A Smile (Feature Film; by Mohammad Reza Mohammadi.2011)
Moon in Water (Feature Film; by Mahdi Musavi Shahri 2010-2012)
Lafunten Restaurant (Short Film; by Hasan Habibzadeh2012)
Hearts Are Aware of Sense (Feature Film; by Jamshid Mahmudi.2012)
Fried fishes (Short Film; by Mohammad Reza Kheradmandan2013)
Plasa Hotel (theater written by Neil Simon & directed by Hani Salehi 2013)
4Season Land Dream (Tv Series .Ali Layeghzadeh.2015)
Key cast: SEDREH SHAKERI, HANI SALEHI, MOHSEN MALEKI...
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):YES
Funders: YES
Release date:2014
Where can I watch it in the next month?
In lady filmmaker festival in US and PIPA International Film Festival Brazil.