During the review session of the film at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art on Thursday, he said, “The film tells the story of Mir Qanbar (Heidari), a 75-year-old retired civil servant from a remote part of Azarbaijan in Iran, who is running for president of the Islamic Republic.”
His assistant is his friend Seifollah, who distributes leaflets from a mule-drawn cart and has been promised the post of health minister because he is disabled and can relate to people in similar circumstances. Mir Qanbar has also run for a Majlis seat five times and made three previous attempts to capture the presidency. Each time he was disqualified.
“The theme was discussed with a group of my friends, and then I talked with Mir Qanbar to obtain his agreement,” Shirvani explained.
“We researched which part of his life we should focus on. I saw that his unique surrealistic way of campaigning, in which he pedals into the town with a megaphone, is more dramatic. I only installed a flag on his bicycle to make him seem like more of a contender,” he added.
The film received the Award of Excellence at the 17th Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in Japan in October 2005.
The events of the film take place during last year’s presidential campaign, which Mahmud Ahmadinejad won, but Shirvani has refrained from showing any election scenes.
“I don’t like to focus on politics,” he said.
“The primary goal of making this film was to show a slice of the current status of Iran's sociopolitical development and how, through different ways, people are craving to have a role in building their own future,” Shirvani said in a previous interview.
Mir Qanbar Heidari also attended the session and thanked the audience, saying, “I hope one day I can perform a service as president.”
Shirvani has promised to be Mir Qanbar’s campaign manager for the 2008 Majlis elections.
MMS/HG
END
MNA
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