Keeping us in check
Iranians in Iran will help us remember who we are
By Kamshad Kooshan
March 21, 2002
The Iranian
When Surviving Paradise
was released in theaters in the U.S I had to travel to different festivals around
the world. This not only allowed me to see the world, but more importantly, it was
a journey of discovery about myself, my country of birth, my country of residence
(the U.S) and all the different perceptions that have risen since our mass migration
as Iranians.
We all have at times thought about the above questions and we have started going
back to Iran or contemplating about going back. Some of us avidly read about everything
that is happening there, but even if we don't we think about the rupture that has
happened in our lives, because of the revolution and its aftermath. I am sure a lot
of our conversations centers around what, when, if and hows about Iran.
I believe we, living abroad can give back a lot to our country of heritage. All of
the experiences that we have accumulated while living abroad can add a lot to the
future of Iran, whether it is the Islamic Republic of Iran in control or some other
government.
Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is financial strength and technical
knowledge that we can take back, even in our short visits, but more importantly it
is the openness, the lawfulness and all the other cultural and artistic experiences
that we have gathered can help better Iran.
In the process Iranians in Iran will help us remember who we are and keeps us in
check with our good traditions and customs. Of course most of the time this exchange
can be painful since our ways of seeing has changed dramatically from our country
men/women in Iran, but nevertheless one should try hard to change things.
Last year I visited Iran twice and that lead to the production of my next project
"Dawn in Moonlight" (Toloo Dar Mahtab) in Iran, which will (Inshalla!)
go into production after the Persian New Year. It has been a great experience getting
to know some parts of the Iranian film "Industry", all the ins and outs
of the Ministry of Islamic Culture and just living in Iran for the past six months.
I am not sure I will be staying in Iran after next summer, since I will be going
back to Europe for my next project (Of course who is sure of anything in the future),
but in the meantime I will try to, sporadically reflect some of the artistic events,
whether related to the production of "Dawn in Moonlight" or other people's
artistic work. Here is the first piece on Visual Arts.
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