Visual Conversations

Mehrdad Oskouei in Conversation with Pamela Cohn

Mehrdad Oskouei's films often begin with a difficult question: how do you bring a camera into a place that is usually closed from view, and what responsibility comes with being allowed inside?

An independent filmmaker, producer and film educator based in Tehran, Oskouei has spent much of his career looking at parts of Iranian society that are rarely seen from the outside. Films including The Other Side of Burka, It's Always Late for Freedom, The Last Days of Winter and Starless Dreams approach social stigma, addiction, identity and institutional life through the experiences of women and young people.

His latest film, A Fox Under a Pink Moon, takes this approach in a new direction. Co-directed with Afghan artist Soraya Akhlaghi, the film was developed over seven years and built largely from material she recorded herself on a mobile phone, while Oskouei directed remotely. Soraya’s drawings and sculptures also enter the film through animation, turning the documentary into both a record of her life and a work shaped by her own artistic imagination.

Access is only the beginning. His films are built through patience, careful listening and the trust he develops with the people in front of his camera. His presence is often heard rather than seen, gently guiding conversations without reducing anyone to their circumstances.

In this Conversation, Oskouei will discuss securing permission to film in restricted environments, working with a small crew, developing relationships with participants and turning intimate material into cinema. At its centre is a question that runs through his work: how can a filmmaker come close to another person's life while respecting that the story still belongs to them?

This Conversation is made possible with the support of the European Union Kosovo. 

Admission to the Conversations is free. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

A Fox Under a Pink Moon by Mehrdad Oskouei and Soraya Akhalaghi screens:
8 August at 12:30 — Teatri “Bekim Fehmiu” (Salla e Madhe)
13 August at 20:30 — Dokukino Plato
15 August at 10:30 — Teatri “Bekim Fehmiu” (Salla e Madhe)