Discovering Shahnaz: The Birth of a Documentary
Milad’s connection to the Bakhtiari Nomads runs deep, having grown up in the same region. When asked how they found Shahnaz’s story, Milad shared:
"Marjan and I were both born and raised in a small rural village in the southwest of Iran, near the Bakhtiari Nomads. We have a lot of memories in this nomadic area and we always remember the beauty and colours of our village.
After our childhood, we moved to Tehran to study and pursue our dreams. About four years ago as we were working on another project in the same area, a 12-year-old girl called Shahnaz came up to us and started telling us that she wants to become a writer in the future, but that her father didn’t want her to continue her studies and insisted that she should marry. There was great ambition in her eyes as she read one of her stories which we enjoyed a lot. Marjan stayed in touch with Shahnaz and two years later we went back to her village and started filming Shahnaz."
Two Films, One Story: The Decision to Split the Narrative
The decision to create two films instead of one stemmed from the rich tapestry of life and traditions in the Bakhtiari region. Milad explained:
"We believed that because there are so many traditions, stories, and strong characters, that we wouldn’t really be able to depict this in one short film. Also, we knew that this area is full of beauty, both in summer and in winter, and we wanted to show how life in the winter village contrasts with the summer village. We wanted to share Shahnaz’s story and also to tell the story of Shahnaz’s teacher, Esmaeil."
We hope that this film encourages young audiences to be more hopeful for their own future and that they develop more resilience to achieve their goals and dreams.
Challenges on the ground: filming in extreme conditions
Producing these documentaries was fraught with logistical and environmental challenges. Milad detailed some of the difficulties they faced:
"Unpredictable situations were the hardest and most challenging part of this project. When making the winter film, there was the difficulty of getting stuck in the snow and storms; avalanche risk and the danger of flooding. These were real challenges! Filming the summer story meant staying in a tent during the production period.
Transportation to and from both villages was difficult. In winter, only one car was able to get through, which made it hard carrying the production team and all their equipment in just one car. As well as this, the roads were in bad condition. On good days it still takes two days to travel to the winter village and two days to get back to Tehran. For the summer village shoot it took us about ten hours of hiking and climbing to arrive there, and it made the transportation of equipment really challenging.
During the filming of the summer film, there was no accommodation in the mountains, so we needed to camp in tents. There was no phone signal, shower, electricity, drinking water or any of the other modern stuff we are used to. These all made the situation extremely difficult. Keeping equipment batteries charged was a real challenge for us."
A Poetic Lens: The Filmmaking Style
The films’ poetic and observational style is a deliberate choice, rooted in Iran’s rich cultural heritage. Milad elaborated on this stylistic decision:
"In Iran we have a long history of culture, poetry, and literature, and many artistic and cinematic films have a poetic style. We tried to have this style in both films whilst also keeping a better pace for a younger audience. We think this kind of storytelling can have a deeper influence on the audience."
Inspiring Hope and Resilience: The Film's Impact
Through these documentaries, Milad and his team aim to transport viewers into Shahnaz’s world and evoke a sense of beauty and hope. Milad expressed their aspirations for the audience:
"We really like to bring the audience to another world which is unfamiliar and encourage them to feel the beauty of a colourful culture and the dream of an ambitious young character who thinks way beyond the place where she is living.
We hope that this film encourages young audiences to be more hopeful for their own future and that they develop more resilience to achieve their goals and dreams. We really love to reflect hope and love in the world with our films."
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