Rouhollah Hejazi

What was your motivation when you started writing the script?

I was born in Abadan in the southern part of the Iran, near the Iraqi border. It was one of the cities touched a lot by the Iraqis during the 8 years of the Iraq-Iran war. I was only one-and-a-half years old when I had to leave Abadan, but it was always a wish for me to make my first film there, in that part of Iran.

Do you think you were able to reflect everything that was on your mind in Among The Clouds, all of your expectations?

No, obviously not, because it was a first film. Making a first film always has lots of problems to prepare the ground for. And that’s why I think I wasn’t able to reflect all of what was on my mind. I just achieved some part of it.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How did you start filmmaking?

I started with some short children’s programmes for Iranian television. After that I made four long videos, again for television. This is my first feature movie and also the first time I have collaborated with the Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC) of Iran.

At the end of the movie I wondered very much what would happen to Nora and Malek. Do you have any continuation of the movie in your mind?

It is an open ending actually. The important thing is not whether she chooses to stay or go, but that Malek, because of his love to her, gives her everything he has, all his belongings and money. That’s a very open ending.

Where did you find your cast? Were some of them first-time actors or were they all professionals?

The girl, Nora (Elnaz Shakerdoost), is a professional actress. With Malek (Younes Ghazali) I had already done two films before this one. He was discovered by me. He is now a professional actor, but I asked him to perform in this movie. And the others are mainly theatre actors, but not professionals - amateurs.

What are your plans for the future? When will we be able to see your next movie?

I’m hardly involved with my second film. I have a treatment of the script but I’m not satisfied. I have worked on it for a year now and I’m hoping to have a final draft next year.

What do you think about the future of Iranian cinema?

Actually, with the presence of a new generation of Iranian filmmakers we should wait for a new kind of cinema, which will be different from what we saw in the past.

The soundtrack of the movie was very beautiful. Will it be released commercially?

Ali Samad Pour, who made the music, is a new, talented musician. He already created music for four films and he usually releases the soundtrack. So he’s going to do the CD after the release of the film in Iran, which should be in a few months.

Ilkin Mehrabov