Nargess, the daughter of Mehdi Kalhor (Ahmadinejad’s media advisor, who recently in his remarks said that the youth that defended the country during the war were not doing so under the influence of Islamic teachings but rather due to the influence of... western movies) has participated in Nuremberg Human Rights Film Festival with a film condemning torture called “The Rake” based on the “In the Penal Colony” novel by Franz Kafka. The story of the film is about a torture device called “Rake” that carves the sentences of the condemned prisoners on their skins before letting them die. This device is the symbol of a dictator’s barbarism. The director links the elements of Kafka’s story to the history of Iran’s prisons. Unlike the pattern in Kafka’s story the hero of this film stops and then destroys the torture device as a symbol of destroying the torture system. In this festival at which Mohsen and Hanna Makhmalbaf (Iranian film makers) will also take part, some other Iranian films with the theme of Human Rights were presented.
For German description of Nargess Kalhor’s film please visit: http://www.fitame.de/programm/filme-a-z/filmbeschreibung.html?tx_rsysmoviedb[searchString]=darkhish&tx_rsysmoviedb[p]=3316-6detailAction
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October 14, 2009
Nooshabeh Amiri
nooshabehamiri(at)yahoo.com
Narges Kalhor, the daughter of Ahmadinejad advisor Mehdi Kalhor, filed for asylum in the west after traveling to the Nuremberg International Human Rights Festival to present her movie condemning torture.
The 25-year-old Narges lives with her mother and has not had any contacts with her father in more than a year. In an interview with Rooz, she discusses her film and her exit from Iran.
The Nuremberg International Human Rights Festival showcased a film that had Narges Kalhor’s name on it. The film, called Rake, was based on a Franz Kafka novel. The film describes a torture chamber called Rake in which the crimes of prisoners are tattooed on their bodies. Narges tells Rooz that her latest film is her eighth production.
Rooz: But we had not heard your name or your work.
Narges Kalhor (Kalhor): Because my works are banned. This is the first film I was able to showcase outside Iran.
Rooz: The topic of the movie is very interesting, as is working with Kafka and molding his viewpoint. Why did you pick this topic? Was it related to today’s events in Iran?
Kalhor: No. I made this film last year, when the situation in Iran was very different than today. I wanted to make a adaptation. I read several books and found Kafka’s work to be closer to what I had in mind.
Rooz: What does your film tell us?
Kalhor: I have a more general viewpoint. The film narrates the story of human beings who are condemned to pain; for no reason.
Rooz: What do you mean by pain? Are you talking about the human condition in general or the reality of life under the Islamic Republic?
Kalhor: No; it is a general philosophical point, and not a particular reality. It relates to the era in which we were born, raised, and live; conditions under which youngsters like myself were born and raised.
Rooz: And what, more clearly, is the general point you are describing?
Kalhor: The general point is that we don’t want others to impose harsh conditions on us. If we are condemned to destruction, allow us to do it. We want to welcome pain ourselves, not allow others to kill us with it.
Rooz: Meaning, give back my vote? Is that correct?
Kalhor: No; is it beyond the point of giving back our votes. We say, give back our lives.
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