Press Conference with the Participants of Full Length Feature Competition
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Press Conference with the Participants of Full Length Feature Competition

10 September 2018

The Iranian director of Kurdish origin Sattar Chamani Goal and   a scriptwriter Vida Saleh presented their first feature film Golnesa that is now participating in the competition program of the 14th Kazan Muslim Film Festival. `The plot of the film is based on a love story of a guy and a girl from Afghanistan. They fled to Iran to save their love. They do not have an opportunity to marry, living illegally in Iran and working in a brick factory. However, the couple's life in Iran is also in danger: if the local police find them they will deported to Afghanistan, where they will face the death penalty. All events are developing within this tense background`, said Sattar Chamani Goal.

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The director said that the topic of refugees is relevant for the Middle East. However, the main focus is now put on Europe and the refuges coming from the conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. At the same time, there is an issue with the refugees from Afghanistan, who migrate to Iran. 'It would be better if there will be more films on the issues related with migration and refugees. We would like that as many people from many countries to know the existence of this issue from different angles’, said Vida Saleh.

Golneza was shot in early 2018 and has a successful festival fate in many countries. `Today, we could present our film at the film festival in Italy, but we made our choice in favour of Kazan. The Kazan Muslim Film Festival has a special concept and audience`, said the director.

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The co-director of Mullah, Amir Galiaskarov emphasized that the film is the first film adaptation of the play by Tufan Minnullin written in the 1990-s. The film tells the story of a young man, who become a mullah in a village after imprisonment. `The play was written over 20 years ago and reflects the historic background of this difficult period in our country. Many details and some of the dialogues would probably be better understood by people, who witnessed this hard times. At the same time, the film raises such universal issues as relations with family and friends. Therefore, Mullah would be understood in any country’, said the director.

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Clay Pit social drama by Vera Glagoleva was presented by the executive producer Maria Ksinopulo and an actress Anna Opaleva. `Unfortunately this is the last work of Vera Glagoleva. We had been working together for almost 13 years. This farewell picture is extremely important for us, which we had to finish without her’, said shared Maria Ksinopulo.

The story of the film Clay Pit takes place in a provincial town and is built around a family conflict escalated due to the presence of a new family member, a native of Central Asia, Rustam. According to Anna Koroleva, who played one of the leading characters in the film, this story shows how in the circumstances of a love triangle and family conflicts, people might forget about the most important issues related to their children.

`Our film could be understood by everyone. Moreover, the topics of migration and assimilation in Russian society are quite relevant. We hope that this work will be appreciated by the audience and filmmakers’, commented Maria Ksinopulo.

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Sattar Chamani Goal shared his impressions on the Clay Pit: `I admire the author of this film. Editing, acting, filming locations... The story is told very soundly. I would like to express my admiration and gratitude!’, he said. Maria Ksinopulo thanked his colleague and announced that the film will premiere in Russian cinemas this November.

Photo report from the event is available here