by
Alireza Sharifi
Film Specs
Runtime: 25 minutes
Year of Completion: 2023
Country/Countries of Production: Iran
Language(s): Persian
About
Five single boys and girls travel to the north of Iran. Instead of a hotel or villa, they are forced to rent a cabin from a strange motorcyclist.
Alireza Sharifi
DIRECTOR
Alireza Sharifi is an Iranian screenwriter and director currently pursuing an MFA in Film at Columbia University, where he focuses on directing and screenwriting. He holds a BA in Film Directing from the Tehran University of Art and has completed specialized directing courses under Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.
His short films have been screened at international film festivals. His work often explores identity, repression, desire, and moral conflict through darkly comic, surreal, and genre-driven narratives, with a particular interest in characters confronting hidden aspects of themselves in unsettling and unexpected circumstances.
Artist Reflection
What inspired you to make this film?
This film follows a group of young people on a trip. Faced with the prohibition of villa rentals to individuals due to the ban on romantic and sexual relationships before marriage among the young generation in Iran, the protagonists reluctantly rent a cabin from a peculiar motorcyclist, who turns out to be a sexual deviant, violating their privacy. As a member of the young generation of Iranians whose system of beliefs is leaning toward secularism and atheism, my filmmaking concerns the ambivalence and contradiction of modernity and tradition in Iran. In this film, I represent a conflict that many people face in Iran, given that incidents such as sexual harassment and assault are prevalent in today's Iranian society. Due to the prohibition of sexual relationships before marriage in Iran, assaulted individuals rarely report such incidents to the police because they would be charged as so-called sinners. However, in this film, I aimed to alter reality and break stereotypes to create a world where the protagonists win such a battle in an unexpected ending. To visualize this triumph, I represented the characteristics of horror cinema in the Iranian social context. The film setting draws inspiration from horror films, commonly featuring a group of young people starting a trip for leisure, and they encounter unprecedented danger, which results in scenes with aspects of the Action genre.
What was the most challenging thing about making this film?
The most challenging part was shooting for seven days in northern Iran with a relatively large crew on a limited budget. Making a genre film with action sequences was also a challenge, especially in a filmmaking environment where this type of production is less common.
What do you hope audiences carry with them after watching?
I was inspired by the contradictions between modernity and tradition in contemporary Iran, particularly the ways social and sexual restrictions shape young people’s lives. I wanted to explore these tensions through the language of horror and genre filmmaking.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently developing my first feature film, which is my main focus at the moment. At the same time, I’m working on an adaptation for my thesis film at Columbia University. I’ve also recently finished shooting a new short film, which I’ll be moving into post-production soon.