Synergy: Going with God

“Vaya con dios,” said my husband’s manager, when we had decided to leave Los Angeles in 2003. And that’s what we’ve tried to do for the most part – if going with God means going with that, which is bigger than us. One of the crazy projects we’ve embarked on in recent times is a web soap opera aimed primarily at Iranian audiences, both within Iran and in the Diaspora. Being part Persian, the developments in Iran have been very close to our hearts and we’ve had a desire to contribute to more understanding between the various, incredibly diverse and rich cultural backgrounds that make up “Persianness”. It’s another one of those projects that yields no financial gain and is, for the most part, sapping our resources and time if you think of it from a purely commercial perspective. But that’s the price you pay, when you try to “vaya con the dios” in your life.

You can’t get programs like ours on to official Iranian television, because the content would probably be deemed as anti-Isla... more

Big Brother’s Watching: When we become the narrative

These days everyone seems to be a film-maker. We have a lot of great technology that enables us to skip film school and delve right into our first movie. I have a friend who is a dentist by profession and makes movies as a hobby. His latest flick, “Mocha Frapuchino” just premiered at a Hungarian cinema and attracted an actual crowd and a fair bit of publicity from the local media. He shot it between dental appointments and edited it at home using mostly common sense and little bit of help. Yes, it’s made for a small audience with insider references and no proper micing, but hey it’s a genre of its own!

Even for those of us who’ve taken film-making on as a focused vocation, there are more possibilities for us today than ever before. Mostly because of the available technology – which keeps getting smaller. I’ve been writing and co-producing a no-budget soap opera for Persian television/web and I can’t tell you how unimpressive our tiny high-def handycam looked atop our massive... more

Embracing The Unknown

When good, films have a way resonating with universal truths within us. There seems to be a basic rhythm that is reflected in stories, which is deeply intrinsic and which you will find in nature or in music for example. In its simplest form, this rhythm usually begins with an initial condition or “direction”, a subsequent “crisis”, a “climax” of some sort and finally an ending or new beginning and direction.

A seed will be lying dormant until a crisis cracks open its shell in a powerful and tumultuous way that eventually brings about a flower, the blooming of which is the culmination of that seed’s life. But it doesn’t end there. That flower, sunning nonchalantly in the summer warmth will suddenly undergo a change in the form of autumn, which dries its leaves and robs it of its petals, only to reappear in brand new splendor the following spring.  Consider how brutish trimmed roses look in the winter. You’d think someone’s surely butchered them. But it isn’t until the garde... more

Stepping Out

His voice sounded like it came from the other end of a long, endless pipeline that was located in another universe – far, far away. He asked us whether we would film the community play at the local center. Cute, we thought. My husband was directing network TV shows and shadowing on Alias and CSI. We heard him out and then suggested he get one of the volunteer youth to do the filming. Anyone can operate a handy-cam these days.

We were filmmakers and this was Hollywood. In those days, before coming to South Africa, we were signed with big agencies that represented big names. We took meetings with big people and drank coffee from big cups at industry venues in town. We went to sleep to the image of our names on the silver screen and woke up with the hope of receiving that call or making that deal that would take things to the next level. A video at the local community center was not part of the picture.

And could you blame us? I have seen some of the most v... more

Culture of Contest Revisited

It was a rainy night in Johannesburg. There wasn't much to be done except sit in front of the telly and watch Survivor South Africa. I had lived here for several years and it had been great - don't get me wrong - but I had yet to be "bitten by the bug" as everyone kept telling me. That "African bug" that is supposed to bite you and make you never want to leave had somehow evaded me. While I was very fulfilled in the work I was doing, I felt equally capable of moving back to where public transportation actually worked, electricity was available consistently and I didn't have to have burglar bars on my windows.

But then it happened. I was stuffing my face with pop-corn, watching two "tribes" compete for immunity on some challenge. The picture was complete: the skimpy clothes, the sweaty, emaciated participants, the creepy bugs. As the contestants of one tribe lined up to embark on their challenge, the members of the opposing tribe made themselves comfortable and sat down to watch... more