Told mainly through uninterrupted long takes, The Friend’s House Is Here is an organically unfolding portrait of life in present-day Tehran, extending beyond the city’s artistic community. The film celebrated its international premiere in the presence its creative team.
“You begin making a film with an artistic vision. But there is always the risk of state censorship. It can shut the entire project down or even land you in prison. It doesn’t matter whether it’s music, theatre or film. We had to be extremely careful and trust only the right people. Otherwise, we could have faced persecution,” said co-director Hossein Keshavarz, describing the realities of filmmaking in Iran.
The film was made underground. Most of the scenes take place indoors, while the filmmakers often had only a matter of minutes to shoot those set outside. However, the tight schedule and modest production resources went hand in hand with the film’s concept. The cast consists of theatre actors, who rehearsed very little. As a result, the process gradually produced a sense of authenticity, with spontaneous moments giving the film its vitality.
“We made an underground film 15 years ago. It was shaky and technically uneven. This time we wanted a different kind of challenge – to make the film look elegant,” co-director Maryam Ataei explained in response to an audience question praising the film’s crisp cinematography, composition and rich colour palette.
The filmmakers also described the almost claustrophobic feeling of shooting the film in the streets, where they constantly had the impression of someone watching and filming them. “Making this film was risky from beginning to end. Nobody knew what was going to happen. We were asking ourselves just how much risk we were willing to take,” they said. “We don’t know what will happen when we return to Iran. But we’ve been taught since childhood to overcome obstacles like these. That’s simply life,” the filmmakers concluded, receiving warm applause from the audience.
