Hollywood producer Barry Navidi has returned to his native Iran after more than 15 years, just as Iran and the US make efforts to finalize a possible nuclear accord that he and others hope may also help forge closer cinematic ties between the two countries.
Born as Bahram in 1960, Navidi grew up in Tehran and later went to film school in London. From there it was Hollywood where he made movies, including three films featuring Al Pacino, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, ‘Salome’, and ‘Wild Salome’.
In an interview with Variety in Tehran during the 5th International Urban Film Festival (May 27-June 2), Navidi said, “I’ve been trying to come back, but been so busy. Now I’m on a break from touring with Al Pacino and his one-man-show ‘An Evening With Al Pacino’. When Amir Esfandiari, director of international affairs of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, invited me to this festival, I realized this is the perfect time to come back”.
On his feelings about returning to Tehran, he said, “Here I feel at home, but it takes a while to adjust, of course.”
He believes that lifting the western sanctions will have a positive effect on the Iranian film industry.
“I don’t see why we can’t use a location in Iran to film a Hollywood movie. Iran has the infrastructure, the crew, and the means to make films. I don’t see why we can’t do that here”.
He hopes to make a movie in his home country. “Iran has great filmmakers. In time, with the right circumstances, I would like to bring a western production here. It would be nice to bring the two cultures together and start an international production.”
