Debut of the 37-year-old director, son of Jafar Panahi, with “Hit the Road”: “I don’t see a bright future for young people”
“The car is like a second home for Iranians, it’s a cultural factor” explains director Panah Panahi via zoom from an apartment in Tehran, when we ask him why he chose to make a film shot almost entirely in a car. Hit the Road (Get out on the street). “Even if a person can’t afford anything else, he still has a car. In Iran, inside the car you can listen to the music we like best and if the veil falls it’s not a problem, we live another life than the one we live on the street. Iranians feel more comfortable in the car, it’s like having a small protected core. Iranian society is now in tension due to political problems, people are not comfortable walking on the street ».
This film, which contains tributes to 2001: A Space Odyssey, to Batman and to old Iranian tunes, marks the directorial debut of Panah Panahi, 37, son of the famous director Jafar Panahi, who is banned from traveling after a conviction in Iran for “propaganda against the state”. The film will be presented on Friday 1 October in an Italian premiere at Festival Middle East Now di Firenze, within a very rich exhibition of works from countries in the region, including Afghanistan.
The protagonist of the film is a family that travels from Tehran to the border, after having bailed out their eldest son (who cannot explain why he ended up in prison). In addition to the young people who have rebelled and have to leave the country, this road movie addresses the issue of the disappearance of the Iranian middle class, increasingly in crisis due to political and economic problems?
«Yes, making this film I came to the conclusion that everyone wants to leave, there is no longer a real reason to stay in Iran, people are stuck in limbo. But I didn’t want to show it too explicitly: also for this reason the reason why that young man ended up in prison is not explained. The Iranians are already suffering and I did not want to show only the pain but also their personality and humanity ».
The family listens to old songs from pre-revolutionary Iran, such as Googoosh’s, at loud volumes. Are they still popular today?
“Today’s society is against this type of music, so it’s important to listen to it, and Iranian families, when they go on vacation, they always do it.”
The younger brother in the film is a six-year-old boy, likeable, bratty and full of energy. What is the future of this generation?
«I wanted to convey a sense of nostalgia for the idea of family. I don’t see a very bright future for young people, even when I look at my friends. I see no hope for my company and this breaks my heart. I would not like to have children: it is difficult to bring them into the world in such a society ».
You have been an assistant to your father for many years, who in turn was a pupil of Abbas Kiarostami. Since he was a child he grew up on the sets of their films. How do you feel about being compared to them?
«I’m a bit old to start making films, because I’ve always tried to do it alone and I’ve always been afraid to be a child of art. It took me a long time to show the script to my father. ‘
September 27, 2021 (change September 28, 2021 | 14:59)
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