rafi pitts it’s winter - celluloid dreams
TRANSCRIPT
IT’S WINTERA FILM BY RAFI PITTS
IT’S WINTERA FILM BY RAFI PITTS
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INTERNATIONALSALES INTERNATIONAL
PRESS
5IT’S WINTER
Title It’s Winter Original Title ZemestanA film by Rafi Pitts
Based on the story Safar by Mahmoud DowlatabadiStarring Mitra Hadjar, Ali Nicksolat, Saeed Orkani
Iran / 2006 / 85min / Color / 1 :85 / Dolby SR / Drama / Farsi
INFORMATIONPRODUCTION
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A man is fired from his job. Having no more options,
he decides to go find work abroad, leaving behind
his wife and daughter. Months pass and his family
hear no word from him. A stranger, a mechanic,
arrives in town in search of work. His eyes wander
to the beautiful young woman whom he hears no
longer has a husband.
The struggle to survive of a generation torn
between wanting to leave its country yet bound
by blood to home.
SYNOPSIS
7IT’S WINTER
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RAFI PITTS ON IT’S WINTER
9IT’S WINTER
The story is inspired by a book I read long ago, ‘Safar’ (The Trip) by the celebrated Iranian
writer Mahmoud Dowlatabadi. He is notoriously reticent about adaptations of his work. I
usually don’t believe in books becoming films word by word, but impressions of a book can
inspire a film. A feeling that isn’t dictated by traditional narrative. That is why the title has
changed. I told Dowlatabadi that I couldn’t work from his point of view, or even the original
dialogues (the original takes place before the revolution in 1968) and that I wanted to show
my view of the present day.
In Iran today the population has doubled in 25 years and very little has changed for the
working class. But as TV has made its way into homes and cafés the view of the world has
also changed. The desire to leave and move west is much stronger. I also wanted to work with
my characters, from the working class (hence real people), as they need to account their own
story, a major asset of the original book. I was very honest with him and I explained my vision
of this adaptation. He accepted.
Another influence on the film is the poem ‘Winter’ by Mehdi Akhavan Saless. It’s also a well
known work. The poem depicts the governing power, the cold attitudes of winter! I used it
both at the beginning and the end in order to frame the film. What Akhavan Saless does in
this poem is to give form to feelings and sentiments that are often oblique in a beautiful way.
This is how I wanted It’s Winter to play out and not just as a narrative but also to give form to
feelings, to the intangible. It describes the rough life in which we all struggle, under pressure,
to survive a day-to-day life.
Origins of the project
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For Khatoun, life is tough, especially since she
is a single mother. In Iran a single mother with
children rarely marries again. She is a martyr,
a victim of a system run by men. A strong
woman, a survivor, but she is also a prisoner.
When she meets Marhab, she’s torn between
her attraction to him and her instinct to
protect her child. He’s an unconventional guy,
a marginal, who likes to ridicule convention.
For him to marry a woman with a child poses
no problems.
Khatoun
Marhab
I chose to work with non actors. The story is told by real
people with their own backgrounds and reflections of
their personal truth. You find a real person with his own
story, and through him you strengthen the narrative.
The subject of the film is driven buy the characters
experience. If, at the beginning of the film I instantly like
a guy, I’m not really moved. What’s interesting for me is
when the audience comes across him and learns about
him, gets to know the guy. An hour and half later you at
least understand him better, because you have shared
this time and you come away with your own personal
opinion. The subjects of my films are deeply rooted in
the central characters. I come from a country where we
are constantly told how to think. What is right and what
is wrong. I therefore believe that in cinema an audience
needs to be free and not be dictated in any way.
Characters
11IT’S WINTER
Mokhtar represents the failure of the dream that everything can be
resolved by leaving home and going elsewhere. He’s a universal
immigrant! The film begins in the snow with Mokhtar walking
by the train tracks, at the end of the film we find Marhab in the
same place.
Mokhtar
Marhab is a charismatic drifter. He always
wants change, something new. For him
the grass is always greener elsewhere.
When he falls in love with Khatoun, he
thinks that a family will improve his life.
Very quickly, he discovers that nothing
changes. Living the ideal of ‘every man for
himself’ he thinks he can survive, succeed
even. But it’s Mokhtar who shows him this
isn’t the way, that it’s not possible. One
could suggest that Marhab is Mokhtar ten
years younger...
Marhab
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My characters aren’t mechanical creations, much of it comes from the actor that’s playing them. They just have to be
themselves as much as possible, and then we believe in the story.
My job is to think of ideas and ways to motivate reactions, from the actors, within the frame. For particular expressions, whether
it’s an actor or a non actor, there’s no rule. It depends on their own characters. All I can do is build up an environment for a
scene to take place. It’s only then that it becomes exciting, because I’m constantly witnessing something as an audience.
When the actors are saying their lines yet thinking about themselves, it creates an emotion, I need to capture and hunt down
the real. I’m always looking for this little accident, something incalculable.
Working with Actors/non Actors
13IT’S WINTER
What I find fascinating with women is that they are
constantly in touch with reality, maybe it’s because
they give birth. Men seem to live more in a dream world,
where as women seem to deal with facts. It’s Winter,
if we look at the character of Khatoun, her husband
decides to leave, this means that she’s going to have
to survive on her own. We have very strong women in
Iran, yet we live in a macho society where men decide.
Ironically if you look at Iran before the revolution, there
were around 15 to 20% of women in universities, now
it’s 50%. The women are extremely active. Due to the
economic situation, nobody can afford to stay at home.
So they must go to work, in order to survive. Yet at
the same time, they’re often let down by men in many
ways.
Women in Iran
The shooting was over the course of fifty days and had its’ problems because we were relying on the weather. Particularly for certain
scenes where we needed snow. Of course, it’s simply impossible to think of using a snow machine in the south of Tehran. I wanted
to create an Iran very much based in reality, yet timeless.
Some locations were tricky to negociate, shooting the garage for instance... Nobody had ever shot over there, because the mechanics
are wary of cinema and tv. In commercial films they’ve been portrayed as crooks. Whereas they’re just people from the working
class, who are merely trying to survive. They’re very angry about these stereotypes! I think the only reason we were able to shoot
over there is because the central character comes from that neighbourhood. He works in a garage as a mechanic, and everyone
knows him. I also lived a couple of months there. It’s strange, but you have to become them. This is something I find fascinating
when you make a film, you really become another person: it’s not the character that becomes you, it’s the contrary.
Shooting
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15IT’S WINTER
Born in Iran 1967. Rafi Pitts studied Film
and Photography at Harrow College - the
Polytechnic of Central London. In 1991, he
directed his first short film IN EXILE.
His next short film SALANDAR (1994) won the
Special Jury Prize at the 37th San Francisco
International Film Festival, as well as, Best
short film at the Belfort Film Festival (France).
His first feature film SEASON FIVE (1997)
represented Iran at the 54th Venice
International Film Festival and went on to
win several awards in festivals world-wide
(Mannheim, Valencia, Belfort...).
SANAM (2000), his second feature, was
awarded Best Film and Best actor, at the 16th
Paris International Film Festival (2001).
ABEL FERRARA: NOT GUILTY was presented
in competition at the 56th Locarno International
Film Festival, as well as the 33rd Rotterdam
Film Festival (2004). It was also awarded,
Best Feature Documentary at the Belfort Film
Festival.
ZEMESTAN (IT’S WINTER), shot in Tehran, is
his fourth feature film (2006).
Filmography
1991 IN EXILE – Short
1994 SALANDAR – Short
1997 SEASON FIVE – Feature
2000 SANAM – Feature
2003 ABEL FERRARA: NOT GUILTY
Feature (documentary)
2006 ZEMESTAN
(IT’S WINTER) – Feature
BIOGRAPHY
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Khatoun Mitra Hadjar Marhab Ali Nicsolat Ali Reza Saeed Orkani Mokhtar Ashem Abdi Little girl Zahra Jafari the Boss Naser Madahi Grand mother Safari Ghassemi.
Writer and Director Rafi Pitts Based upon the story Safar by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi Producer Mohammad Mehdi DadgooExecutive Producer Fereshteh Taerpour Production manager Shahnam Shabazadeh Director of Photography Mohammad Davoodi Art Director Malak D. Khazai Music Hossein Alizadeh & Mohammad Reza Shajarian Editor Hassan HassandoostSound Yadollah Nadjafi, Naser Shokohinia Music Hossein Alizadeh & Mohammad Reza Shajarian.
CAST
CREW
17IT’S WINTER
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