Russian Filmmaker in Tehran Holds Workshop

Karen Shakhnazarov, the Russian director of ‘Assassin of the Tsar’, is among the guests of this year’s Fajr International Film Festival. His film is screened in the Classics Preserved section.

Shakhnazarov held a workshop of film directing in the Talent Campus section on Friday, where he talked about the art of directing. The goal was to help teach the fundamentals to directing a film with focus on development, pre-production, and post production. Other topics included learning how to direct actors, work effectively with cinematographer and an editor, the festival website wrote.

The Russian director said cinema always welcomes a good idea and “my hope is that Iranian and Russian film industries could one day start working together for film and TV. Now is a great time for the two neighbors to work together and make films, as they have excellent relations in other areas”.

He has made 20 movies and was producer in 10 others. He has founded a film production company and produced 100 movies there.

Elaborating on filmmaking, he says, “The most important element in filmmaking is choosing the right story, and the right actor for it. Without a good screenplay and a lot of good actors you cannot make a good film. You can however go on and rewrite your script until you are satisfied with the result. It takes a lot of time for me to place the right actor in my films”.

In conclusion, Shakhnazarov said, “Federico Fellini (renowned Italian filmmaker) believed cinema was like a railroad with people living along its tracks. This is the poetic definition of cinema. I think cinema is an industry in a real sense of the word. Cinema is not an art form in and of itself because it doesn’t have just one auteur - unlike painting, literature, and music”.

Talent Campus, a section added to FIFF in 2016, includes a series of workshops that targets young filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts. A total of 110 young talents from Iranian cities as well as other nations are attending the expert sessions chaired by renowned local and international cineastes in various fields regarding cinema. Filmmaker and screenwriter Maziar Miri, 44, manages the section. 

Presided over by writer-director Reza Mirkarimi, the 36th FIFF is underway at Charsou Cineplex in Tehran until April 27. More than 300 special guests including filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and critics are participating.

FIFF shows some of the best films made in and outside Iran in its various sections. The event has been held independently from the national Fajr Film Festival for the past four years.