New Delhi: Under the section ‘Indian Panorama – Meet The Directors’ on Day 4 of the IFFI 2017, filmmakers Ali Asgari & actor Simon Al-Bazoon spoke about their respective films, ‘Disappearance’ and ‘The Other Side of Hope’.
‘Disappearance’ (2017) is an Iranian drama film which had its world premiere at the 74th Venice International Film Festival and later screened at the Discovery Section at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. During a dramatic night, two young lovers run from hospital to hospital seeking help for complications they encounter after their first time.
Filmmaker Ali Asgari said, “I love to make realistic films with a human connection. This film is based on a real story and we had also shot a documentary on the same subject. First movies were all about entertainment but today we’ve grown and are looking to not just entertain through our films but also communicate”.
Winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, ‘The Other Side of Hope’ intertwines the stories of two itinerant protagonists: Khaled, a young Syrian refugee who drifts into Helsinki harbour as a stowaway; and Wikström, a travelling salesman turned restaurateur, who finds Khaled sleeping outside his diner and hires him as a cleaner and dishwasher.
Simon-Al-Bazoontold (Actor) told media that, in order to prepare for the role he did a lot of research. He was a translator and volunteered at the Refugee Welcome Federation, where he learnt a lot of stories and interacted with the refugees at the camp.
The 48th Edition of IFFI will take place from the 20th to 28th of November, 2017 in the beach state of Goa. IFFI is India’s biggest and Asia’s oldest film festival, making it one of the most prestigious in the world.
