Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Hatamikia was in attendance to present his new film At Damascus Time, recently screened at the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran. The film is a drama about fighting Daesh forces in Syria, and includes many Syrian and Iraqi actors in its cast, who shot on location in Iran and Syria.
Many of Hatamikia’s responses at a Q&A surrounded the great pains he took to present the film’s characters as accurately as possible: “One day, I gathered my team and screened videos issued by Daesh, showing their militants beheading or drowning men…I have not lived with the Daesh militants, but I did my best to present a proper image of them.”
The director has certainly prompted attention with the release of this film, even interrupting the screening in fear that attendees were pirating it with their cellphones, which were then confiscated by organizers.
Producer Mohammed Khazai intends to distribute At Damascus Time worldwide, which echoes Hatamikia’s urgent plea to maintain awareness of terrorism, and the director is eager to see his film screened throughout the Middle East.
A thrilling story of the ongoing war in #Syria and the fight against terrorism.@Damascus_Time now playing in theaters for the Fajr Film Festival. pic.twitter.com/zeuaNp7uOc
— Damascus Time Movie (@Damascus_Time) February 1, 2018
Cover image: Ebrahim Hatamikia, Babak Hamidian, and Hadi Hejazifar in Be Vaghte Sham / At Damascus Time (2018)
