Iran UK Blog - Saghar/Vicky Channel 4's 121

121 Blog COMPLETED

2007-03-06T11:32:00.000Z

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Azadi Square/ Tehran

2006-10-05T23:11:00.000+01:00

Tehran Big Bazzar

2006-10-02T00:23:00.000+01:00

This Bazzar has built more than hundred yrs ago.In this pic,you see an old man,who sells some colourful rings with precious stones.

Dreamy view

2006-06-15T09:13:00.000+01:00

Reflection

2006-06-13T08:03:00.000+01:00

Untitled

2006-06-12T12:25:00.000+01:00

Cannes, baby

2006-05-23T09:12:00.000+01:00

Hi Saghar

I'm in Cannes! Yeah! I arrived 17 May and went to a premiere of The Wind That Shakes The Barley that night and went again to another premiere the next night and saw Pedro Almodovar's Volver. It's very glamorous on the red carpet and now the people at the Grand Theater Lumiere recognise me because I've been to so many premieres! It's great!

I'm going to 2 premieres tonight - one for Flandres and another for Babel - I don't know what they're about, but it's just to get on the red carpet again.

We've had lots of champagne and too little sleep - the earliest I've been to bed is 2 am, and that's the equivalent of going to bed at 9 pm in Cannes. We've been on a few yachts - the yachts are amazing; they're bigger than my house!

The other night, I was in a bar at the Hotel Martinez and Almodavar walked in, but then on another night, I went to the South African party and was mistaken for an organiser - I realised that when people kept saying to me, 'great party,' 'where are the toilets?'! But I think it was because people had had too much alcohol.

We're staying at an apartment 5 minutes away from La Croisette - that's the long street by the sea where all the cinemas and bars for Cannes are located. We paid a lot of money for it and now I'm broke! It's a loft apartment with low, sloping ceilings and we all keep banging our heads on the ceiling beams. A shelf fell off the wall one day and broke a vase, so I think the owner is not going to be very happy with us - basically the place is falling apart.

Had my film QUIETUS screened last Saturday in Cannes in the Shorts Corner - I was looking forward to it so much and one of my actresses came specially to Cannes to watch it because she had not seen it before. But I wish she hadn't, they projected a very poor quality version of my film: the images were pixelated and very dark; the lipsynch was off; and there was constant noise on the soundtrack. I was devastated - but apparently that's what happens at festivals! I had a moan to the projectionist though!

However, QUIETUS is in the Shorts Corner at Cannes along with 900 other films. That means that anyone can reserve it and watch it on a private screen, and I discovered yesterday that out of 900 films, somebody was interested enough to select my film to watch, and that person watched it for 7 minutes, which is really good for a 10 minute film because most of the time, people just browse the films and move on quickly to another film. Let's hope more than one person watches it - I'm going to check again before I leave on Friday. Next, I have to work hard to get QUIETUS into more festivals and maybe try and get distribution.

By the way, the weather here is great!

Better go, got a party to go to.

Write more tomorrow.

Vicky

Good luck!

2006-05-19T21:48:00.000+01:00

Hi Vicky,
Waz up? Are you in Cane Film Festival now? Wish lots of success for your film.

Fly! For ever...

2006-04-23T21:25:00.000+01:00

2006-04-11T23:21:00.000+01:00

Hi Saghar

Glad you enjoyed your new year’s holiday. We also have a holiday coming up in the UK – it’s Easter (well, in the Christian calendar anyway) break this weekend. The end of this week, 14 April, is Good Friday – and if I remember my bible teachings, I think it’s the day Christ/Jesus rises from his grave – and you’re not supposed to eat meat that day, but fish. (I think it’s something to do with the body of Christ, but I can’t be entirely sure as I didn’t go to church as much as I should have done as a child.) Anyway, I think this tradition still holds strong in Britain where Fridays tend to be a day for eating fish, and I remember at school, we always used to eat fish and chips for our lunch on Fridays!

Do you know, we had a lucky escape that this Friday is 14 April and not 13 April – in Britain, if the thirteenth day of any month lands on a Friday, it’s incredibly unlucky. If you’re superstitious by nature, you tend to avoid walking under ladders (in case something falls on your head!), or just be very, very careful in everything you do that day. But at least that’s just one day – if you break a mirror, you can expect some 7 years of bad luck. It’s all ludicrous really – do you have any beliefs in Iraq which can be considered irrational, or maybe a bit silly, yet some people still buy into them even though they know better?

OK, I digress. Sunday 16 April is Easter Sunday for Christians in the UK, and on that day, we eat a load of chocolate eggs – or rather, chocolates and tonnes of it. In fact, I’ve got head start and I’m munching on some maltesers (malt covered in chocolate; they’re divine!) as I write. In the old days, people also used to go on Easter egg hunts where chocolate shaped like eggs are hidden in gardens for people to find and eat.

Also, we eat hot cross buns in the run up to Easter. This is just sweet bread with currants and sultanas inside and criss-crossed into quarters with 2 lines of pastry – hence the ‘cross buns’. I can’t really think why we eat a lot of chocolate and hot cross buns on Easter Sunday, but I think the egg is supposed to symbolise ‘life’ – and again if I’d gone to bible classes I could tell you more about that; I suspect it’s to do with the body of Christ. I’m now going to have to research this as I suddenly feel inadequate – I guess I appreciate the consumerism side and rarely consider the biblical implications.

I was trying to draw parallels between our Easter celebration and some of the ritual you described in your new year celebration, but failed miserably.

Thank you, it’s very kind that you hope I win an Oscar one day – I hope so too! You never know, something could happen at Cannes! My film Quietus is going to be showing at Cannes Shorts Corner – a section of the festival where producers, distributors and film industry professionals etc, go to if they want to find emerging filmmakers. Let’s hope one of them likes Quietus!

We’ve also got a screening of my film in London in May, and we’re expecting some well-known film production companies to attend. I’m very excited about that!

Yes, I’ll check out the Iranian short film festival – if I haven’t missed the deadline, I’ll send in my film. Maybe Quietus will be selected and then I’ll get a chance to visit Iran. Don’t worry, I don’t believe everything I read in the press – as controversial topics get great coverage in the media, it can sometimes lead to a confused perception of other countries and cultures.

Weather here is rain, rain and more rain – but then, we wouldn’t have April any other way.

Regards

Vicky

In the memory of ancient times...Nagheshe Jahaan Sq. Esfahan/Iran

2006-04-09T23:36:00.000+01:00

2006-04-09T10:15:00.000+01:00

Dear Vicky,Hope you are doing well.
After new year holidays and a short travel to Esfahan(one of the nice cities of Iran),I've came back and ready to start newyear,with more energy! Today,I'll upload some of the newest photos I've taken in that city.
I wish lots of luck for your new film,in Cannes Film Festival.It'd be great experience for you.Hope one day,you win Oscar! I'd like too see some photos of your film,and some videos about your country. In which field do you write?
There is an annual short film festival in Iran.It's thier website:http://www.iycs.ir
If you like,you can contact them and send your film for their next festival.
I don't know how much you know about Iran and Iranians,but I suggest you don't trust a lot to what you see or hear in news! Iran is a great and nice country with kind people.If you find a time,it's worth to visit this country!
At the moment,the weather is wonderful.Some times rainy,some times shiny!

p.s. Would you please give me your e-mail address?

cheers,
saghar

2006-03-30T21:08:00.000+01:00

Spring in Britain focuses on less cultural pursuits… we’re concerned with our daylight hours and the promise of summer, but not before we traverse the rain-drenched month of April (we’re expecting hailstones and gales tomorrow). Yes, the British have an almost hypnotic fascination with the weather – possibly because our side of the world experiences little weather.

The Iranian New Year appears to be loaded with ritual and significance – ours is filled with song, merriment and general mayhem, and resolutions we do not keep or regret by 2 January, the day after our New Year’s Day. Do you also make resolutions on your New Year’s Day, decisions which you hope may improve and/or enrich your life? I’ve given up making such resolutions and instead make quiet promises to myself of achievements I hope to accomplish before the year is out.

Talking of achievements, I’ve finally delivered my short film Quietus to the UK Film Council today. It’s been quite an experience (good and bad) – one that I won’t forget in a hurry, and one which I hope to take with me to my next film… I now know of things I will do differently the next time. I am now planning to try and secure funding to make a 30-minute film (my current one is 10 minutes), which I hope to write as well as direct. The subject matter is dark, but has a social theme which I hope will connect with most people.

I find your photographs quite poignant – they look like something you enjoy doing. Please do send me more, depicting the ordinary people of Iran; the sights and sounds and what you see or encounter in your daily journey. I have a digital video camera, but unfortunately I do not have a digital camera nor the various cables to upload images to show you my immediate environment – I will work on that. I live in a multi-cultural community of Europeans, Caribbeans, Africans, and Asians, and it is a vibrant community at that! Our annual carnival (end of May) showcases the artistic spectacle and cultural melting pot of Luton, where I live. I have some DV footage of the carnival of 2 years ago and will endeavour to upload some images for you to see – it’s a great occasion, attended by some 2000 visitors in addition to Luton locals.

I can hear the rain beating against my window as I write to you – tomorrow’s going to be extremely wet, but then, that’s Britain in the spring time!

2006-03-21T23:15:00.000Z

Hyacinth; scent of heaven!

2006-03-21T23:10:00.000Z

Cute Gold fishes!

2006-03-21T23:09:00.000Z

Young girls in a shopping center in Tehran.

2006-03-21T23:05:00.000Z

A shopping center in Tehran.

2006-03-21T22:58:00.000Z

Iranian New year begins on the first day of spring; March 21th.All the people prepare themselves for traditional ceremonies in advance by cleaning their houses, replacing some old stuff, buying new cloths, flowers, and so on. Besides some items are specifically provided for 7S table set.Haft-Seen or The Table of Seven S's is a ritualistic table that Iranians prepare and sit around it at "Saal-Tahveel". Haft means "seven" in Persian, and Seen is the 15th letter of the Persian alphabet (which consists of 32 letters) and phonologically it corresponds to the letter S in the English language. The following seven things whose names start with the letter "Seen" must be present on any Haft-Seen table. The following is a list of "Haft-Seen" items and a brief description of their symbolic meaning or cultural significance. 1) Sabzeh (sprouts, usually lentil or wheat): Representing fertility and rebirth of nature.
2) Seeb (apple): Represents natural beauty.
3) Samanu (a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding): Represents the reward of patience.
4) Somaq (somaq berry used as spice): Represents the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil.
5) Senjed (the sweet, dry fruit of the Lotus tree): Represents love. It has been said that when lotus tree is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else.
6) Seer (garlic): Represents health.
7) Serkeh (vinegar): Represents age.
Other items that you may see on Haft-Seen table:
A mirror which represents the images and reflections of Creation that by Persian beliefs took place on the first day of spring. On either side of the mirror are two candlesticks holding a flickering candle for each child in the family. The candles represent enlightenment and happiness.
Sonbol (Hyacinth): Spring flowers with the scent of heaven.
Sekkeh (coins): Represent prosperity and wealth.
A basket of painted eggs represents fertility.
A Seville orange floating in a bowl of water represents the earth floating in space.
A goldfish in a bowl represents life and the end of astral year-picas.
A flask of rose water known for its magical cleansing power, is also included on the tablecloth. And finally, incenses (mounted in sprouts) whose fumes ward off evil spirits.
During New Year holidays, people visit their relatives and friends, go sightseeing and take trips to attractive places

2006-03-21T21:41:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

2006-03-13T11:26:00.000Z

Hi Saghar

I like the photographs you've posted, especially the one with the man and child walking across the light squares on the floor. Were they published in a Tehran newspaper?

Life is busy for me at the moment - I'm making a short film and it is taking just as long as if it was a big film because I'm trying to do something a little different. It's called QUIETUS and will be really cool once it's finished - we just need to put some music in it, but it's proving quite difficult to find the right music.

Anyway, we are going to send it into the Cannes Film Festival this year, and I'm very excited about that - if it gets selected, I will be ecstatic.

What's life like for you in Iran at the moment?

Regards

Vicky

2006-03-12T19:34:00.000Z

Follow me! (Train station/Tehran)

2006-03-09T20:28:00.000Z

The little passengers! ( Train station/Tehran)

Welcome

2006-03-03T20:50:00.000Z

Welcome to Channel 4's 121. 121 is a place for alternative perspectives on countries in and out of the news, an opportunity to go beyond the tired old tales and get a fresh story from everyday individuals. It's based around international dialogues (using ‘blog’ technology) between paired individuals with similar concerns or occupations from the UK and the other country in question.