According to Saba’s report, Mahmoud Gaberlo – writer, journalist, presenter and member of the Guild of Film Critics and Journalists – after publishing a picture of himself at the 19th International Resistance Film Festival and the empty cinema hall, said about this festival: The issue of resistance in Iranian society is highly sensitive, and naturally, when a festival with this title is held, it must be able to meet the needs of the audience with strength and power, and in the field of cinema, oppression and the nature of enmity in a way To depict professionally and artistically.
Stating that festivals are usually a platform for filmmakers to gather and exchange ideas, he added: “Unfortunately, we did not witness such an incident at the Resistance Film Festival, and this issue is a serious problem that can be criticized.” I published a picture of the festival situation online, which showed the lack of acceptance by filmmakers and audiences, but my friends could not bear the criticism and by distorting the text and picture published on my personal page, they republished content that did not correspond to reality.
Emphasizing that he has a generally positive view of the movement of resistance, Gaberlo continued: “Resistance is part of my belief and thought, but if we are going to defend this movement, we must see the situation closely as a critic and expert and comment on it.” When we come across a limited number of people in one of the festival’s programs, not even serious filmmakers among them, and the hall is almost empty, but on the other hand, several hundred young filmmakers participate in programs related to short films, the question arises for us, why the resistance festival could not provide such an atmosphere for the presence of young people and filmmakers with different tastes?
Pointing to the importance of the correct and principled narrative of resistance for the future generation, he said: Iran plays an important role in the current of resistance in the region today, and if it cannot present a correct narrative of this issue and attract domestic and international filmmakers, naturally others will present their own narratives and distorted works of the realities of this current may be formed.
The credit of the festival is due to its professional management
In response to the question that despite the presence of sections related to resistance in festivals such as Cinema Verity, Tehran Short Film Festival and Fajr Film Festival, what is the necessity for holding an independent festival with the title of resistance, he explained: the prestige and status of each festival depends on its professional management and planning. A festival may turn into a publicity and propaganda show, but on the other hand, a festival with the presence of four or five professionals and experts can turn into a prestigious event at the world level.
Gaberlo added: I consider holding the festival in the interest of the society in any situation; Because such events provide the possibility of creating intellectual spaces and hangouts where people do not have the opportunity to gather in a natural way. The festival can create conditions for people with different views to sit together, talk and exchange ideas.
Referring to the financial support of the Resistance Festival, he said: This festival is dependent on organizations and institutions that have significant financial resources, and naturally, appropriate funds should be allocated for its holding. If the festival had a reliable and professional management, it could have used this financial and intellectual support to create a serious trend in the resistance cinema and provide the basis for the production of works that present a correct narrative of the Iranian people’s resistance.
This author continued: When such a platform is not provided, others and outsiders present their distorted narratives and works are created that do not match the facts. In my opinion, one of the serious weaknesses of the festival was that it failed to pay enough attention to the issue of resistance cinema works with the audience.
Resistance films should not be archived
Pointing out that in the past years, works have been produced in the field of resistance that failed to communicate with the audience, Gaberlo said: We must be able to open the blind knots of this field so that the audience can communicate with the works. That a film is made and finally deposited in the archive or used simply as a part of the statistics of an administrative and organizational set is the weakness of a cultural movement that claims to have thought, thinking and financial support.
He further stated about the limited number of new productions in the field of resistance and the presence of a significant part of old works in this year’s festival: I believe that the organizers should have predicted and evaluated the conditions in advance. If they did not have suitable products, there was no need to spend the expenses of holding the festival. They could even stop the festival for a while; Especially since we are still in a situation where we are facing threats and hostile attacks from the enemy, and perhaps the cultural movement cannot operate widely in such an environment.
This journalist added: The festival could be postponed to next year when the conditions are calmer and there are more suitable productions for the show. Even instead of holding a festival, they could focus on producing quality works.
Supporting institutions should focus on production instead of holding expensive events
Referring to the role of institutions supporting the movement of resistance in the production of cinematographic works, Gaberlo said: I think that the organizations that support this movement, instead of scattered actions and holding propaganda events, stand together and invest in the production of cinematographic works, they will get more effective results.
He added: If the goal is simply to create a space to show the vitality and dynamism of the Iranian society against the threats of the enemy, it is possible to show that the Iranian society continues its daily life despite the threats by holding various cultural programs and even concerts. But the main task of the custodians of resistance cinema is, first of all, to produce brilliant and powerful works.
Emphasizing the necessity of creating intellectual and professional platforms for filmmakers, this author stated: hangouts and spaces for gathering professional filmmakers should be created. Even the artists who have made brilliant works in the field of resistance can stand together in such an atmosphere and, considering the solidarity created among the people of Iran against the enemy’s attacks, reach unity and consensus to produce great cinematographic works.
Filmmaking thinking is not created by instruction and training
In another part of his speech, this film critic pointed to the number of themed and parallel festivals in the country, including the Resistance and Ammar festivals, and said: “Unfortunately, instead of creating unity among artists and filmmakers with different views and tastes, some currents try to create everything from scratch and separately.” This approach is not correct.
Gaberlo continued: Filmmaking does not come from education and training alone. We can teach filmmaking tools and skills, but thinking is not something that can be taught to people; This thought must come from within the filmmaker.
Stating that there are many filmmakers in the country who feel responsible and compassionate towards the resistance and the recent attacks of the enemy, he said: there must be a person or a group that can gather these artists together and provide them with a free-thinking space without narrow-mindedness and creating intellectual limitations so that they can discuss, give theories, and from these discussions, new ideas for filmmaking can be formed.
Referring to the experience of the holy defense cinema, this film critic explained: an atmosphere was created in the field of holy defense, where today we see the production of films with different genres, types and stories. If the same space is created for resistance cinema and the filmmakers are freed from intellectual limitations and closed space, we can hope for the success of this movement.
Monopoly in choosing filmmakers harms resistance cinema
In the end, Gaberlo criticized what he considers narrow-mindedness in some cultural currents of the country, and said: Unfortunately, a current has formed in the country that only recognizes a limited group of people and does not use the capacity of other artists, such as Sed and Sima. Currently, we see movies and series on TV that sometimes even works are not at a professional level in terms of cinematic technique, but they are noticed by TV directors, but other professional filmmakers are left out.
He added: All artists may not be 100% aligned with the views of the organizers in terms of interest, thought or ideology, but this issue should not be an excuse to leave them out. It seems that this type of view has spread to some events, including the resistance festival and Farda narrative; While the resistance cinema needs more than anything the empathy, participation and use of the capacity of all filmmakers to grow and be effective./ ISNA
