On the afternoon of June 20, the Iranian film "The Scavengers", which was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Golden Goblet Award of this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, held a crew meeting. Director Ahmad Bahrami, producer Mohammad Hosseinkhani, lead actor Ali Bagheri, art director Nahid Sedigh and cameraman Masoud Amini Tirani came to the meeting to share the story of the film's creation.
Unique art style of minimalist movies
"The Waste Pickers" tells the story of a lonely middle-aged man who decides to die in a strange village in Iran. As the final chapter of Iranian director Ahmad Bahrami's "waste trilogy", "The Waste Pickers" continues the long black-and-white photography and the theme of confrontation of the previous works. In "The Wasteland", a man who is about to lose his job in the mud brick factory fights for his rights, and in "The Waste City", a woman who was imprisoned for killing her husband fights for the custody rights that were deprived. In "The Waste Pickers", the lonely man burns down the village, and his final suicide attempt also becomes a footnote to this minimalist film allegorical poem.
Ahmad Bahrami believes that the film does not provide an open ending. It is closely related to the previous two works and is a cycle and supplement to the previous works. When he first designed the trilogy, he wanted to shoot three short films in one movie, but when he was actually shooting, he found that each part could be an independent film. Regarding the selection of characters in the film, Ahmad Bahrami mentioned that many classic movies would choose characters beyond social attributes as the protagonists, in order to break tradition and present a "higher artistic level."
Actor Ali Bagheri is the director's favorite male lead. He believes that he serves as "the best tool to present the film effect" in the film. Dialogue and performance are all for better presenting the film effect. Because there are no lines, Ali Bagheri pays more attention to the details of facial expressions and body movements during filming, as well as how to coordinate with the environment. "For me, although this is a challenge, it also gives me a lot of creative space, allowing me to better tap my potential."
Art director Nahid Sedigh mentioned that "The Scavengers" has a lot to do with the first two films, so they are constantly continuing and strengthening the artistic creation of the first two films in their creation. "Because this film is in black and white, we need to keep in line with the characteristics and technical means of black and white films in terms of costumes and scene design."
How Photography Works for Actors
Talking about this collaboration, producer Mohammad Hosseinkhani mentioned three factors that were particularly important. First, he and director Ahmad Bahrami had a very similar pursuit of art and ideas about how to present the film. Second, the charming appearance and unique acting ability of the lead actor Ali Bagheri gave the character infinite life. Third, the photographer Masoud Amini Tirani handled the lens in a very unique and delicate way.
Masoud Amini Tirani is the director of photography for the film, and this is his third collaboration with the director. In the film "The Scavengers", he used a lot of long shots and moving shots, as well as black and white effects and a design without lines to show how a lonely man lives in a backward village. At the same time, in order to make the film more realistic and natural, he tried to use natural light during shooting to serve the characterization and shaping of the characters. "Photography should serve the actor, so that he can achieve a better effect in creating the role, rather than setting restrictions."
"We decided to use a 4:3 aspect ratio and black and white shooting techniques during the first team communication." Ahmad Bahrami believes that this shooting method allows the audience to see more information in the film and is more conducive to the action shooting of the actors. Photographer Masoud Amini Tirani also believes that this picture can allow the actors to present more in their performances and actions. "We want the audience to focus on our actors rather than let the surrounding environment interfere with their vision."
