POWFest - Gliese 667: The Mirror
Another you is calling you to resist.
Interview with Director Tahereh Ahmadishad
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Producing Gliese 667: The Mirror is my very first try at directing. The main approach to this project has been formed by my personal observations and experiences of women's real-life, beneath the surface of Tehran, the capital city of Iran and also hours of interviews with individuals. Eventually, I feel that urge to challenge the maternal instinct's strength against the most ruinous sense which is despair. I wanted to picture a mother who believes that surrounding to her imminent death and not fighting against it due to her economic condition is more beneficial for the future of her feeble children. However, when a woman turns into a mother something germinates deeply within her which doesn't have any matches. I may call that the unique sense of absolute humanness.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Straightforwardly, to put yourself in an inexperienced journey. To join a desperate mother with her children in a developing country. The one with a sense of descendant in her life. To perceive the power of maternal instincts and how it can rise and shine in those eternal nights of hopelessness.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The truth is, I started this project before my pregnancy and now I have my amazing newborn daughter and it is so surprising when I was producing this trilogy, I reached to a familiar touch that now a day as a new mother I have found. In other words, I assume that this project puts a distinctive and undeniable effect on my prospects and I hope it will have the same effect on audiences, particularly on women. Another amazing point is that a mother may sacrifice herself for the sake of her children, however, the presence of a healthy mother plays a more vital role in her children’s life.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
Although this is my very first experience in film, I tried to engage the script and the whole process with a precise obsession and attitude. We have irreplaceable changes during finalizing our script and feedback helped us to specify the audience's emotional and logical reactions to the film at preproduction. The most magnificent happenings occurred during the filming sessions, although our training sessions had already formed the most important aspects of our main characters; sudden sparks caused some aesthetic and dramatic scenes which I truly admire.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The most major feedback is the quantity and the quality of several international film festivals which approved The Mirror as their official selections. And also the number of audiences that have watched this project since the first screening til now and I believe that it shows us we are somehow on the right track.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Some individual feedback was completely astonishing for me. They opened some new layers of meaning from the film, which has not been revealed until that time for me. I mean, even me as the writer of The Mirror didn't come up with those conclusions and definitions of the film. It makes me proud of my work and its capability to activate the audience's imagination. Also, it’s perfect to find out how a person's life and experiences affect her attitude and tendency.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It's crystal clear that www.wearemovingstories.com is attracting more attention and fans each day and it's become an eye catching platform already. The most impressive fact is how www.wearemovingstories.com dedicates itself to creating a practical showcase for women around the world. I am exclusively fascinated in sharing my visions and experiences with other indie filmmakers, particularly new female ones via this well-known platform.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Always journalists and film festival directors are welcomed by The Mirror. Moreover, I really like to find an international producer for my upcoming projects. I sincerely want them to gain confidence about our middle-eastern style of filmmaking based on our remarkable outcomes.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I don't like to dictate my prospects to audiences, while I try to guide them to a brighter definition of my story. The fact is the film is more like a flow and audiences are like leaves. Each leaf doesn't follow the exact track of the front one. individuals may have their different findings in every shot.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Great question with various answers. Just for a starter, what is the current status of lonely mothers like in developing countries? How could maternal instinct affect women's viewpoints? What can wake up a desperate mother to stand against her hopelessness? What would you do if you were in the shoes of The Mirror's main character?
Would you like to add anything else?
Special thanks to dear Carmela, the founder of this fantastic platform and keep on the great work. Plus, I assume that filmmaking in the first place is about having the courage of expressing and telling our unique story to amaze and share the feeling of joy between each other. So all you women who really want to tell your wonderful story via film media, but not yet take action on that, it's time to explore this joyous art for your own interest.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
An animation idea about the relationship between human and nature and how it can be beneficial for both sides and how human and nature are bound to each other. We usually have seen more of the adverse effect of mankind on nature and this is a rare insight in the basic. I believe that this animation will be so striking.
Interview: March 2017
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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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Gliese 667: The Mirror
Another you is calling you to resist.
Length: 14 min 52 sec
Director: Tahereh Ahmadishad, Aidin Eftekhari
Producer: Tahereh Ahmadishad, Aidin Eftekhari
Writer: Tahereh Ahmadishad, Aidin Eftekhari
About the writer, director and producer: Tahereh and Aidin are partners anddirectors who are fully capable of forming inspiring ideas from sketches to a full-length movie, adaptable and economical with unmatched potentials in Middle-Eastern art.
Key cast: Atousa Irani, Sevda Abolhasani, Hasan Valikhani
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): film festival directors, journalists, and producer, buyers
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I see it in the next month?
POWFest