Mar 2004 - Issue 3
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An Interview with Azadeh Babaii
In an interview, Iranian film maker and photographer Azadeh Babaii talks about dealing with racism, the influence of India on his work and why fashion in America is no longer about what it should be.
What can you tell our readers and us, about your history and your background in art?
Azadeh Babaii: I'm Azadeh Babaii Fard and I was born in February 1979 in Tehran. I have been interested in art and especially painting since childhood. I wanted to be a painter but during adolescence my interest shifted to cinema. I found the evolution of art in cinema. This realization led me to study filmmaking after high school. I now have a bachelor's degree in filmmaking. I've made two short films and have been doing photography for the past two years as well. I recently made a "back projection" for an alternative rock group. I also have some experience in writing and I sometimes work as an assistant director.
I-I: Who are some of the artists that have influenced you over the years?
Azadeh: Well, if I wanted to name all of the artists who have influenced me,
we'd be here for a while, so I prefer to name Iranian directors who have
influenced me:
-Sohrab Shahid Saless with "Yek Etefaghe Sade" (A Simple Occurrence) and
"Tabiate
bijan" (Still Life), I think he is one of the forerunners of the "new wave" in
Iranian cinema. He was ahead of his time, and unfortunately, I think that is
one reason his important role has never been fully recognized. -Daryoush
Mehrjouii with "Hamoon", -Amir Naderi with "Davande" (The Runner), -Bahram
Beyzaii with "Marge yazdgerd" (The Death of Yazdgerd), -Varojh Karim Masihi
with "Pardeye Akhar" (The Last Act) -Parviz Shahbazi with
"Nafase amigh" (Deep
Breath).
I-I: Are you a photographer or a filmmaker?
Azadeh: I don't like to label myself as a filmmaker or anything else; I can only say that I try to concentrate on filmmaking.
Azadeh Bababii's "I want to be happy"
I-I: You have done a short film called "Solitary". Can you give us some details about the concept and how you came up with the whole idea?
Azadeh: It's about a girl who has to make a decision about having an abortion. It's a very short film with conceptual editing and with fast cuts and many short shots. The most prevalent feeling in this film is the absence of safety. Maybe the idea came from a personal experience of mine. I had a friend who became pregnant. She, one of her friends, and I went to a doctor who performs abortions and we had to pretend that we were a family! I was her sister and he was her husband. It was very difficult for me to pretend that I'm someone else and when I looked at my friend, I could see that she was not ok with the situation. She had to hide her problem from her family and we were her family at the time. Nobody supported her, I mean from her family and society.
I-I: Can you give us some details about the concept of your other short film, "Carnival" and how you came up with the whole idea?
Azadeh: I wanted to make a film but I didn't have any money. At that time, I was isolating myself a bit and was using the Internet a lot. I began thinking of ways to make a film in a room with only my camera and no actors and no film crew. At the same time, I was thinking how the Internet could help filmmaking, as it has done the other arts. I started to research optical art artists, because I wanted to create movement in lines and colors. I used Victor Vasarely and M.C.Escher's works. I was familiar with them from my childhood and always liked their works. I also discovered Bridget Riley and her countless paintings via the Internet. I liked her ideas about style and it was similar to what I was thinking about concerning the world and its complicated issues. I always liked to shoot anything so I had enough experience to understand what I was looking for in the images that I had found. I also used multi-cultural music on the images. The result was an experimental film.
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