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Farzad Samsami (b 1980 in Tehran, Iran) director/writer, founded the production company GorillaFilm in 2005, and has since then directed many professional music videos. ‘Foad’ is his first professional short film.
Synopsis:
Foad stars Oussama Zemmourri who plays the title character. Foad lives in a coastal town in Morocco and makes his living from all sorts of odd jobs to survive. Many refugees from all over Africa gather in this seaside town, and pay a lot of money to get to Europe by boat. Foad sees a business opportunity in the boat refugees.
Cast:
Oussama Zemmourri, Mly youssef Ezzahr,
Trond Høvik and Youssef Derkaoui and many other non-actors.
Some short films were crowd-funded while others were self-funded. Which route did you take?
All my previous films were made with zero budget but Foad was government funded through Norwegian Film Institute. In the end, I lost all hope because people told me I would never get the money. It’s not the kind of film you can make with no budget. But when I submitted my script — they loved it. I also submitted my script to Philip Øgaard, a top cinematographer, to build a team. Philip Øgaard read it, and called me soon after.
What is the short about?
It is a refugee story told from a new angle. It happens every day—but since people don’t connect with that. My goal was to to tell a story that is important as well as entertain—to say, it’s okay to laugh.
When did you find out the film got accepted to the 20th Annual Palm Springs Intl. ShortFest?
I found out it got accepted about six weeks prior—but I couldn’t announce it until two weeks before. The Norwegian Film Institute sent me an email and said “Congratulations.” I was picking up my children at Kindergarten at the time—and was so excited, I bought them ice-cream.
How did you cast the film?
I was looking for a 14-17 year-old boy to play “Foad.” One day a 40 year-old came to audition—so there were some communication issues. Eventually, I cast a 15 year-old boy [Oussama Zemmourri]. I found him in the streets. He had no acting experience. I felt like he was a young boy in the exterior but an old man inside. At first, I gave him too much direction—he would lose it and become self-conscious. So, I told the cinematographer [Philip Øgaard] we have to work around him…But when the audience sees his performance onscreen—they feel him.
What were some challenges about making the film?
I was in a foreign country—I couldn’t speak French. I don’t speak Arabic or French—and my film is Arabic and French.
What do you hope viewers come away with after watching the film?
Almost every day refugees drown in boats. I don’t have the answers but I see that it’s happening. I hope that someone very smart sees my film and comes up with an answer. Film can be one of the most cultural, powerful mediums and a means of connecting with people—it’s like a painting that you can really feel—it’s all about emotion…I hope that next time they see about it [refugees] in the news, they can have a little more compassion.
Is there anything about the film you would change or do different looking back?
I’m so proud of the film—every time I see it on the big screen, I get so emotional.
Summing-Up:
Foad is one of those rare films that makes both an important social statement and entertains. Much credit goes to Farzad Samsami’s direction—working with non-professional actors and an original script. Philip Øgaard’s beautiful cinematography and the music score by Tom Roger Rogstad and Joachim Alte for Big City Music, also help bring the story to life..