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Ali Mirdrekvandi was a peasant
labourer from Lorestan who, during the Allied Occupation of Iran
(1941-46), befriended John Hemming, an English lieutenant and
schoolteacher. Ali taught himself English and wrote an epic
romance, "Irradiant," as well as a novella, "The British and
American Officers' Book" (aka "No Heaven for Gunga Din"), which
John read, revised, and tried to publish. Fate would have his
stories pass through unexpected hands, notably the Oxford
Orientalist R.C. Zaehner, one of the British agents involved in
the 1953 Iranian Coup d’état. John bequeathed Ali's archive to
the Bodleian Libraries upon his death. As for Ali, he travelled
to search his Creator, "waiting to be worthy for speaking..."
The film "Seeking for Story" does not claim to tell the story of
an archive. Rather, it seeks to transform history into mystery.
Through an encounter with a scholar (Mariam Motamedi-Fraser) and
a dancer (Cecilia Macfarlane), the subject becomes embodied.
What results is an attempt to show a fantasy – of leaving a
language, carrying a weight, and embarking on a sacred journey –
through the figure of Luti, an imaginary of the Other in Iranian
spectacle.
Writer, Director, Editor: Ashkan Sepahvand
Soundtrack: Stravsky & Pelè
Performances: Cecilia Macfarlane, Mariam Motamedi Fraser
Cinematography: Lou Macnamara
Guest performer and set assistant: Virgil B/G Taylor
Additional editing: Harri Davies
Audio post-production: Andreas Reihse
Colour: Anna Barsukova
Coproduced by: The Cultural Programme
Film still courtesy of the artist
Ali Mirdrekvandi was a peasant
labourer from Lorestan who, during the Allied Occupation of Iran
(1941-46), befriended John Hemming, an English lieutenant and
schoolteacher. Ali taught himself English and wrote an epic
romance, "Irradiant," as well as a novella, "The British and
American Officers' Book" (aka "No Heaven for Gunga Din"), which
John read, revised, and tried to publish. Fate would have his
stories pass through unexpected hands, notably the Oxford
Orientalist R.C. Zaehner, one of the British agents involved in
the 1953 Iranian Coup d’état. John bequeathed Ali's archive to
the Bodleian Libraries upon his death. As for Ali, he travelled
to search his Creator, "waiting to be worthy for speaking..."
The film "Seeking for Story" does not claim to tell the story of
an archive. Rather, it seeks to transform history into mystery.
Through an encounter with a scholar (Mariam Motamedi-Fraser) and
a dancer (Cecilia Macfarlane), the subject becomes embodied.
What results is an attempt to show a fantasy – of leaving a
language, carrying a weight, and embarking on a sacred journey –
through the figure of Luti, an imaginary of the Other in Iranian
spectacle.
Writer, Director, Editor: Ashkan Sepahvand
Soundtrack: Stravsky & Pelè
Performances: Cecilia Macfarlane, Mariam Motamedi Fraser
Cinematography: Lou Macnamara
Guest performer and set assistant: Virgil B/G Taylor
Additional editing: Harri Davies
Audio post-production: Andreas Reihse
Colour: Anna Barsukova
Coproduced by: The Cultural Programme
Film still courtesy of the artist