Iranian and Turkish producers will jointly work on a cinematic project on Rumi and Shams Tabrizi.
Turkish film director and producer Tolga Celikkanat who heads the ‘Danisman Medya’ film company, in a recent meeting with Iranian cultural attaché in Turkey, Hassan Safarkhani presented a report on his activities in the field of film production, and research on the cinematic project.
“Cultural similarities between the two countries makes it easier to cooperate in this field,” he said, and urged Iranian cinema to join hands with Turkey for joint production of the film.
He added that since Rumi was buried in Konya, Turkey, and Shams Tabrizi in Khoy, Iran, and “everyone knows about their spiritual connection, so this aspect between the two great people and the two cities will provide a background for joint production of the film about their lives.”
As the movie is for global screening, it should meet international standards. The cost of making the film is estimated at $5-6 million. “We will contribute $3-4 million and the remaining is expected to come from the Iranian side,” Celikkanat said.
Safarkhani promised to talk to cinematic managers in both public and private sectors in this regard.
Rumi was a 13th-century Iranian poet who composed poems in Persian. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages. He has been described as the ‘most popular poet in America’ and the ‘best selling poet in the US’. He was born in an Iranian family in the city of Balkh and passed away in Konya, located in Turkey.
Shams Tabrizi (1185–1248) was a Persian Muslim who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Rumi, and is referenced with great reverence in Rumi’s poetic collections. His tomb was recently nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
