A movie by Arash Riahi
Review, Setpember 25, 2011
Over one hundred invited guests visited the Film Forum NRW in order to watch the price winning movie “For a Moment Freedom” in Persian language and German subtitles – a haunting movie that really touched the audience. We were particularly pleased about the fact that besides the guest of Iranian origin we also had a lot of film- and culturally-interested German guests in the audience.
After the movie Ali Samadi Ahadi, the chairman of the DIWAN, interviewed the film’s main actor, Navid Akhavan. The Cologne-based actor said: “Shooting the movie was a very personal experience for me. I play the role of an adult escaping from Iran over the mountains of Turkey by foot and through the snow sitting on the back of donkeys. When I flew from Iran myself with my parents, I was at the same age as the children shown in the movie. A change of perspective that is really haunting. It is important that these stories and fates are being told and screened. We once received an email from a viewer living in Vienna. As it turned out, he had just escaped from Iran shortly, and watching the movie gave him the feeling to be much better understood by all the strangers in his new home of Austria.”
We were also very much interested in the opinions and impressions by the rest of the audience.
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Gallery
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His feature film debut in 2009 was honored with 28 international festival awards, and was 3.5 million euros, is one of the most expensive Austrian debuts: The Iranian origin, in Austria grew director Arash Riahi told in „A moment of freedom,“ the story of three pairs of people from Iran . escape
Three groups of refugees from Iran, including two Kurds flee, with the help of tugs and pilots, some on foot, some on horseback, some by car, via the Iranian-Turkish border mountains into Turkey. In a seedy hotel for the first time their paths cross. The film tells of escape motives, emigration destinations, ideas about the future and the many obstacles that hinder the further emigration to Germany or Austria in the way.
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Arash Riahi’s first movie came out in 2009 and won twelve international festival prizes right away. Furthermore, with a budget of 3.5 million Euro, it was one of the most expensive debut features in Austria. In his film “For a Moment Freedom” the Iranian born director who was raised in Austria tells the story of three groups of refugees fleeing from Iran.
With the help of professional smugglers these groups, among them two Kurds, manage to escape to Turkey crossing the Turkish-Iranian Border Mountains by feet, horse and car. In a run-down hotel their paths cross for the first time. The movie tells the story of the refugees’ motives, goals and imaginations of the future and the different obstacles they have to overcome during their emigration to Germany and Austria.
Together with his parents, Arash Riahi escaped from Iran and came to Austria in 1982. As his father was a leftist intellectual and persecuted opponent of the Shah-regime, Riahi was not able to attend school during his last years in Iran. Instead, he frequently went to the movies with his father. “Maybe this is the reason for my passion for films”, says Riahi. Already during his schooldays he made his first attempts on filming short movies. Later he worked as a freelancer for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), and focused his work on documentaries, music videos and commercial spots.
„My film does not take sides,“ states Riahi. “There are no accusations.” It is all about democracy and the universal desire to realize one’s life dreams in freedom… It is unbelievable: my parents came to Austria without any means, not speaking the language, and yet they managed to establish a secure livelihood never giving us kids the feeling that something is missing. The film pays tribute to them and to their peers and to a million of refugees in the whole world.”