Ein Film von Frank Scheffer
Dokumentation | 2009 | 54 min | Farsi, Englisch
In Frank Scheffer’s new film, the Dutch director follows his friend, the Iranian composer Nader Mashayekhi, a re-emigrant back to Tehran, while he struggles with the foundation of his Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra. Mashayekhi had previously brought the music of modern composers like John Cage and a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion to Iran, almost unbelievable projects in times of the official conservative and radical cultural policies of the country. The Iranian composer worked and lived for 28 years in Vienna and after an invitation by Iranian musicians he returned to his home country. Scheffer’s personal approach is not about politics in a direct way, and does not only concern the question of being an artist in Iran today. His film shows another image of life in this country, looking at young Iranian musicians and how they perceive and experience playing contemporary western music and what it means to them. Like in his widely acclaimed portraits about modern composers, Frank Scheffer succeeds by integrating stunning visuals with the rhythms of the compositions into a poetic and thoughtful film. Through the images of cinematographer Melle van Essen and the moving descriptions and performances by the musicians, a captivating, spiritual and melancholic journey emerges.