20 LIFE | Film Thursday, November 15, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION
Iranian director Majid Majidi’s films: (from left) The Color of Paradise, Beyond the Clouds and Children of Heaven. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY MOVIES FROM THE HEART Iranian director Majid Majidi talks about his filmmaking at a master class in Beijing, Xu Fan reports.
ranian director Majid out sight disabilities). I wanted to Majidi is known for making know how he feels and experien films centered on children. ces the world,” recalls Majidi. His 1997 classic, Children of It turned out to be quite a jour IHeaven — about two young sib ney. Young Ramezani listened to lings who share a pair of tattered the breeze and birds in the sneakers — was the first Iranian woods and grabbed sand on a film nominated for an Oscar in beach — experiences he the best foreign language catego described as listening to the ry. His other acclaimed films “languages of nature” to the include The Color of Paradise, a director. best feature winner at the Mon “I felt like I was blind, too, but treal World Film Festival in 1999, that Ramezani’s vision was Baran (2001) and The Willow Tree stronger. The travel was very (2005). inspirational and had opened my During his recent visit to Bei heart to the authentic beauty of jing, Majidi revealed how he nature,” says Majidi. manages to bring out the most Born in a middleclass family natural onscreen emotions in in Tehran, his fascination with his young actors and actresses — acting and the stage started at 11 by “cheating” a little as well. years old. His interest in cinema “I wrote another script for the grew after the Iranian Revolu children, but they didn’t know in tion of 1979. advance,” Majidi, 59, said in Per His latest film is Beyond the sian of Children of Heaven at a Clouds, a 2017 Hindilanguage master class organized by the feature that marks his first pro China Film Foundation’s Wu duction outside Iran. Set in Tianming Film Summit for Mumbai, the film is about adult Young Talents, which was held in siblings and has child characters, Beijing from Nov 4 to 9. too. He says he set up a “trap” for “A Chinese distributor has pur Amir Farrokh Hashemian, who chased it. I hope Beyond the stars as 8yearold Ali in the same Clouds will be released in China film, and Bahare Seddiqi, the next year,” says Majidi. actress who plays Ali’s younger Majidi was once invited as one sister, Zahra. of five foreign masters to shoot a In the film, which also won Majid Majidi speaks at the Beijing master class held by the China Film Foundation’s Wu Tianming Film Summit for Young Talents on Nov 7. fiveminute promo for the 2008 the best picture award at the Beijing Olympics. He says he has Montreal World Film Festival in since shaped an idea about 1997, Ali is from a povertystrick depicting the conflict between a en family in Tehran. One day, he “But the children would be child quickly ran to the assistant children are more relaxed and Chinese boy and his grandmoth loses a pair of pink shoes — his nervous in front of a camera. It’s and stopped him from ‘leaving’. natural than when they perform er, who respectively represent sister’s only footwear. Fearing natural. You cannot be too At that moment, you could see officially. yearning for a modern life and that their father would blame demanding,” says Majidi. that the child thought it was a Majidi, who’s also a father of the persistence of tradition. him, the siblings decide to take I’m talking to So, the director pretended to great thing,” recalls Majidi. two children, says traveling with “I have been thinking about turns wearing Ali’s pair of scold an assistant for “careless But the children didn’t know the young cast is his other way to the script and polishing it for a sneakers to go to school. But a some Chinese ness” at work and told him that that the cameras were rolling, get into their world. decade. I’m talking to some Chi string of mishaps makes the sit he was fired. As the assistant’s recording their emotions, which Before shooting The Color of nese filmmakers and hope I can uation worse. filmmakers and regular job involved taking care were edited to become formal Paradise, which was listed by shoot the story in China,” says It was the first film for the two hope I can shoot of the two children, they felt sad content in the film. Time Magazine as one of the 10 Majidi. child actors, Hashemian and and cried. Hashemian walked “Of course, you cannot do such best movies of 2000, the director “Iran and China share a lot of Seddiqi, who were selected from the story in toward Majidi, asking the things for all scenes. You still toured with Mohsen Ramezani, similarities in culture. China has a number of elementary school director to forgive the assistant. have to correctly teach them who stars the protagonist — a a huge film market. I expect more students in Tehran. China.” Majidi nodded as if he was (child artists) to induce emo boy who’s blind — to northern cooperation in cinema.” They had to show anger, joy reluctant but agreed. tions,” says Majidi. Iran’s water bodies and forests. and desperation, among other Majid Majidi, filmmaker “He (Hashemian) was so excit He says he shoots what he real “He is more sensitive to hear Contact the writer at emotions. ed and promptly jumped. The ly needs during rehearsals, as ing and touch than people (with [email protected]
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