Director Cyrus Neshvad explains the importance of making ‘The Red Suitcase’: ‘Women disappear, I was scared’

For Iranian director and co-writer Cyrus Neshvad to tell the story The red bag life was an urgent matter. The film follows the harrowing journey of a 16-year-old Iranian girl as she tries to flee an airport without being noticed by the man she is about to marry. One of the most instrumental scenes in the short is the girl removing her hijab for her safety, but also at the expense of her culture. On the timely release of his short film during Iran’s recent anti-Hijab protests led by women, Neshvad explains: “I don’t want the film to be political. I just wanted to convey this message that we should be free to do what we want… when I made this film, I said, “I want a woman who has the choice to take it off, even if this for her own sake.” is. Freedom, for their free will.’”

Here, Neshvad discusses freedom for Iranian women, the meaning of the expression and the symbolism behind it The red bag.

MEETING: What was the inspiration for this short film?

CYRUS NESHVAD: At a dinner my mother, who has ties to Iran because half of our families still live there, said that sometimes women disappear for ridiculous reasons because of their hijab [is considered to] Not be [a] Well [way to wear it], or they say something that won’t be accepted, so they just leave and never come back. So for me it was scary information. And this was in 2020 when no one was talking about it; I was shocked. So I said, “I really want to do something about it,” because it’s also my home country. So I decided to talk about it even if it is in a short film. And then I decided on this girl, an Iranian girl with a hijab in her hair. And that was the beginning of the story.

MEETING: In one of the most instrumental scenes in the film, the main character takes off her hijab, which as you mentioned, in many circumstances can lead to women going missing or being killed for random reasons. Can you talk further about the impact of this scene? And how has the experience been in your own country since the release of the short film? Could it play at the Tehran International Short Film Festival?

NESHVAD: First, since this film came out, it got more exposure because it was nominated for the Oscars. So I received online messages and threats on social media. It [couldn’t be] Screened in Tehran because it is considered an anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic film, so I have some threats on social media there. I don’t think any festival in Iran, even if it was for the film, will show it. Everyone in Iran wants to be far away from this movie because if you are near this movie you will get into trouble. It is already circulating that Cyrus Neshvad is anti-Iranian.

MEETING: How do you deal with this pressure?

NESHVAD: I mean the movie; I don’t want the film to be political. I just wanted to convey this message that we should be free to do what we want. We should be free to wear the hijab; we must be free not to wear it. But if we don’t wear it, it shouldn’t be harmful. And right now the situation in Iran is that you have to wear a hijab. The hijab means a lot in Iran; it is a sign of man’s mastery, of the patriarch’s mastery, of serving the woman’s mastery. Order that a man should have few wives. Dominance that the woman needs the man’s permission to do something.

[For example] if there is a session, all the men can sit on chairs. The women must sit on the floor. I have pictures to show you; They were in meetings taking notes while kneeling on the floor because they couldn’t sit in the chairs. So for today the revolution in Iran is going slow; it is a revolution brought about by women. The women said, “In protest, we don’t wear it anymore.” And in this scene today, it’s very important because when I shot this film, I said, “I want a woman who has the choice to take it off, even if it’s for her freedom, for her free will .” And today it has an even bigger message for what is happening in Iran.

MEETING: In short, we only get a glimpse of her relationship with her father. By the end, he seems genuinely concerned for her, but it also implies that we might not trust him. What exactly is their bond? And what did you and co-writer Guillaume Levil want to convey here?

NESHVAD: It’s a situation where we’re with a girl we don’t know, but I don’t think it’s a matter of trust or non-trust. It is a matter of her understanding that her father is also a patriarch. It is part of that tradition. If she wanted to be free, she was [realizes] that she should come out. It’s not even about family, it’s about tradition. Even if she goes back [home], the tradition will not change. So the message behind this is that if she wants to be free of will, she has to come out of this patriarchal tradition. That’s why you see that moment where she turns off her phone to ignore his messages so she can choose to be free. And the freedom you get for such a price? To lose everything, that red suitcase that was her heart. Losing her family, losing her only money. She has nothing left, but she has a free will, and that is the most important thing.

MEETING: Wait, Wow, the bag represents her heart?

NESHVAD: Yes. As I was building the inside of the luggage, I said, “What could she have inside that could also represent her heart?” I wanted the inside to be very delicate and delicate. She has tissues and paints a little, so she has her drawings, a book and even [Iranian] Pistachio, which is especially famous when Iranians go abroad. So she has all these delicate things. And when [the suitcase was packed]I went to the leading lady [Nawelle Ewad] and said, “Look, this is your heart now; how will you wear it And she wanted to put it on the floor. I said, “No, it’s not Real Luggage; it’s your heart.” And she didn’t really know, but then I suggested we hold it like she does in the movie, close to her chest instead of on the floor. The bag is also red, the color of the heart.

I wanted this idea of ​​the film to be the tenderness of this girl with her delicate luggage, this red suitcase. And I want people to take it to heart too.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]