Life May Be

Synopsis

Life May Be is a digital film which could have been made in the 18th Century. Like Pamela, Samuel Richardson's epistolary novel, it is an exchange of letters - between Mania Akbari and Mark Cousins. Their themes are wide ranging - filmmaking, exile, Iran, the Holocaust and the human body. The film's form starts with extreme minimalism, but then opens up and shape shifts. We see ideas evolving, but style, too, as each filmmaker climbs upon the other's shoulders.

Director Biography

Mania Akbari (b. 1974, Tehran) is a renowned Iranian filmmaker, actress, and avant-garde artist whose work often deals with themes of identity, as in her feature film debut 20 Fingers (2004), which was named Best Film in the Venice IFF’s Digital Cinema section. She co-directed the documentary Crystal. In 2002, she appeared alongside her son and sister in Abbas Kiarostami´s Ten. She then directed the film’s sequel, 10+4. Her video art has been shown at the Tate Modern and at the Locarno IFF. Other films include 30 Minutes to 6 AM (2011) and One. Two. One (2011). Mark Cousins (b. 1965, Belfast) is a Northern Irish filmmaker, writer, curator, and traveler best known for his project The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011). The KVIFF has also screened his films The First Movie (2009), What Is This Film Called Love? (2012), and A Story of Children and Film (2013). He is the author of numerous film essays and books.