Derakhshandeh is known for her penchant for making drama films on hot topics of the day. Her ‘Hush! Girls Don’t Scream!’ was an instant hit at home with its sensitive subject matter of sexual abuse in women, who are forced to bottle up their traumatic experience instead of seeking therapy and reporting the abuse to authority. The film went on to make a name for itself in several international film festivals, winning Best Film and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini) at the 12th Action on Film in the US in 2016.
Now, the acclaimed director has set her eyes on the insanely popular band BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, which is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013.
The band has made quite an impressive fanbase in the world. Their Twitter alone has nearly 22 million followers, and they had the most-liked tweet worldwide last year.
Two of their albums reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Not only that, but they also sold the second-highest amount of albums among all artists in the States. They were also recognized with the Order of Cultural Merit for spreading Korean culture.
“I was recently introduced to this popular Korean band. It sounds unbelievable, but the band has 9 million fans in Iran,” said Derakhshandeh about her decision to make a movie on BTS.
“The BTS fans are really dedicated to the band. They learn the lyrics by heart and look up at the band members as role models,” she added.
“After I’m done with ‘Hush! Boys Don’t Cry!', I will make my next movie on this band, which is very popular in Iran and across the world,” she said.
‘Hush! Boys Don’t Cry!' focuses on boys' issues, this time. It has been in production since 2018.
MS/SABA17374