No Bears is a melancholic hymn to freedom: freedom from traditions and superstitions, from political oppression, and freedom of creativity and expression. In a very personal movie, Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who has recently been arrested and sentenced to six years in prison, shows us two pairs of lovers who are ready to die for what they believe in. On the sidelines of the 79th Venice film festival, at a round table with cast members Mina Khosrovani and Reza Heydari, we discussed the intricate production processes behind No Bears, which won the Special Jury Prize.
Giulia Dickmans, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): Yesterday on the red carpet there was a flash mob protesting against the arrest of director Panahi. How did it feel to be a part of it, along with 100 protesters like director Alberto Barbera and jury member Julianne Moore?
Mina Khosrovani (MK): It was beautiful. It is moving and at the same time, very strong for me personally. I think that it’s very, very important when the whole world stands next to each other showing their solidarity about such a big injustice happening in some corner of the world.
Reza Heydari (RH): It was wonderful if you think that some of the greatest guys in history have walked that carpet. But it was also a bittersweet moment for me because Mr. Panahi was supposed to be here, but he could not because he was incarcerated.
(UM): Could you tell us something about the inception and the creation of the movie? How did it come about? How were you casted?
(RH): I had previously worked with Mr. Panahi as a sound engineer in 3 Faces and I was going to be the sound engineer in this movie as well when they asked me to also play a role, as the assistant director. I accepted and despite the difficulties and obstacles in our way, we tried to stick to the plan and follow it closely.
(MK): I’m an actress and I live in France. When I was 12 years old, I started participating in my uncle’s theatre rehearsals in Tehran. Then I moved to Paris and graduated there in acting. I am in exile for many years now, and I couldn’t have ever imagined that one day I was going to work with an Iranian director, living inside Iran. It’s something that is forbidden for me and for them as well. It is great luck I had to work with such a big master. I just knew he was looking for an actress, so I sent him a video, without even knowing what the role would be about.
(UM): But actually, the character you play mirrors your personal history, right? And for you Reza, do you feel there is any link between your character and your autobiography?
(MK): This idea of wanting to leave your country, but also wanting to stay, and how difficult it is to make this decision practically, but also emotionally… I guess I can relate to all that. Luckily, I’ve never been tortured or imprisoned like Zara in the movie, but for some aspects, I feel myself very very close to Zara. She is ready to leave her country for better days, for happiness, but she realizes that real happiness is being in her own country and next to her husband. Not being alone in Turkey in a very bad situation. Especially in the first years of my immigration I was really obsessed about why should we immigrate. It’s very hard especially when you’re going toward your passion as an artist. Every day of your life is a big challenge, so you start asking yourself: “Did I make the right decision?”. When I read Zara’s first monologue I was extremely impressed and shocked because I felt her anger as mine, this desire for revolution is also mine. Today, I am glad I left because the situation in Iran is getting worse. I think Mr. Panahi is wise and very sensitive because he felt my closeness to Zara without knowing my life.
(RH): I’m a sound engineer, I’ve never been an assistant director or an actor. When Panahi asked me to participate, I started practicing for the role, but when I got in front of the camera, he told me to forget about everything I had learned so far and to leave everything up to him. And that’s exactly what I did. And I think the results were good because he’s a great leader. It doesn’t matter whether you’re next to him or behind the scenes or in front of the camera or like Mina you’re away. He just helps you do your job.
(UM): Can you tell us a little bit about how did you shoot the movie secretly in Iran? Was it dangerous?
(RH): We started filming in a distant village in Iran and we never realized that there might be a chance that authorities may come and give us an ultimatum to just pack and go. But somehow, they found us and on the sixth day they told us to pack, leave, and forget about everything. They told us we cannot continue to shoot in the village, therefore we had to go to other similar villages to shoot other scenes. But for consecutive scenes that were already shot halfway, we had to go back to the same village that was basically forbidden. We took a mobile phone, and we went back there for continuing the shoot. As the sound engineer, I asked Mr. Panahi to allow me to get a recorder there, to better record the sound. But he refused and for everything that was recorded in those 20 minutes, I tried to add a voiceover. Since it was impossible to do the sound recording there, we made a makeshift studio with blankets on the spot, because we couldn’t take the villagers to a real one. It was very challenging, but also very rewarding.
(UM): And for your scenes, Mina, did the direction work in a way that was similar to what we see in the movie?
(MK): Yes exactly. Through WhatsApp. And it was amazing because Panahi wasn’t there but still, I felt his presence in a very strong way. At some moments I was afraid of him and thought he didn’t like me. And I remember when we started filming the main scene, I was very emotional, and Mr. Panahi told me: “You shouldn’t cry. You should be strong. You should be Zara. She’s a very strong woman.” During the whole shooting, I had this impression that he was there directing us, he was taking care of all the details. It’s incredible.
(RH): I have a memory. We were near the border, the whole crew in a car, and we were turning off the headlights because if we might have been identified it would have been very dangerous for us. So, we were driving in the dark through the valleys to get to the place near the border, to shoot just in the moonlight. When we got to the top of the mountain, there was a flickering light, and everybody ducked down and hoped it was not something dangerous. We never found out what kind of light it was. Maybe it wasn’t that important, to tell you this memory, but actually, it became a scene in the movie.
(UM): It’s important, it gives you the sense of the condition under which you had to shoot No Bears. I wonder if you Reza are afraid to go back home.
(RH): No, God will protect me. Because I love working with Panahi, sometimes, I kind of hope I will also get arrested, so that we can work together again. All he cares about is his passion for filmmaking and he continues to make movies from inside the prison. You cannot arrest creativity and passion.
(UM): Since you have been working with Panahi for a while, did you feel that anything in his attitude towards filmmaking has changed lately?
(RH): I think his style is the same. It hasn’t changed much. It’s still simple and at the same time very deep. Maybe his stories have become more melancholic and bitter. His vision of life is maybe more pessimistic.