Farbod Ardebili Draws from Personal Experiences for ‘Forbidden To See Us Scream In Tehran’

Farbod Ardebili is the director of the short film Forbidden to See Us Scream in Tehran. The film tells the story of a female metal music singer contemplating getting caught by police and using the press to escape Iran. This is a highly personal film for Farbod Ardebili as it relates to his own career in Iran as a musician and filmmaker. Forbidden To See Us Scream In Tehran is also a showcase for some beautiful shots and intriguing issues about creative freedom. It’s a film filled equally with dread and hope for the future.

Awards Daily: So to start, I want to ask what got you interested in movies and music?

Farbod Ardebili: It’s very simple really. Since I was a kid I was interested in telling stories, and loved creating animation, then when I grew up I preferred to make movies. What got me interested in music, is that for me music is part of the storytelling, it can tell its own story or just help you tell a story. That’s what basically got me into music.

AD: The subject matter in this movie is very personal to you as a reimagining of what you and your friends went through in Iran. What made you want to tell that story now? And what would you say is of you in the film versus what is just told for the storytelling?

Farbod Ardebili: You are very correct. The story is very personal because of my own experience as the leader of an underground metal band in Iran. One thing that really motivated me and inspired me to tell this story is the fact that for our second album we had a female singer. When I say the album, there was no official release, everything was underground in Iran. This female singer was exceptionally talented and it was always a struggle for me to understand why she was not allowed to sing. She was not allowed to sing solo in any genre, let alone Metal, which is also banned in Iran. So that stayed with me until I left Iran and came to the United States and I always wanted to tell that story to maybe, in a way, release myself mentally of the pain she was going through. The main reason why now is that I had the opportunity. I met some amazing producers who wanted to make a movie with me and I pitched the idea to them. We got to make the movie and it was quite the journey. But that basically is how I made the movie.

AD: Speaking of the singer Sherin, the actress playing her, Sarina Amiri, is one of the main reasons the film works because of the emotion she is able to express to the audience. How did you find her?

Farbod Ardebili: Most of the people in the movie are my friends from the time I was working in Iran but for the actress we had to use someone who had the ability to become the character and at the same time be able to make you believe that she is the one singing. At the auditions we saw Sarina and she was absolutely fantastic. One of the amazing things about her was she wasn’t a Metal musician but at the end of the shooting she was a full-on Metalhead.

AD: One of the shots that really grabbed me is after Sarina has left the apartment after telling her sister some intense news. You faded in with her face underwater and at first it’s unclear that’s where she is and then she screams. Where did the idea for that shot come from?

Farbod Ardebili: After the shot with the sister we wanted to create a mysterious feeling and a sense of confusion because that was what was going through Sherin’s head, not knowing where she belongs… We also have a saying in Iran, “screaming under water.” Her screaming underwater with no sound perfectly encapsulates her situation. You don’t know what’s happening and are confused like she is until she takes her head out of the water where the confusion is dissolved and she calls the police. I loved making the audience feel for a few seconds exactly what Sherin is feeling.

AD: Another great moment for me was the underground concert lighting at the end of the film. We see movement and it’s hard to tell if it’s just the dancers at the concert or if the police are there. It really captured the chaos going on. What went into making that shot?

Farbod Ardebili: That was a really hard shot, to give you some context: that shot was the scariest shot to shoot because if someone saw what we were doing the whole team could have ended up in jail. That whole scene was a scary one but luckily nothing bad happened. So, putting that aside, we wanted the colors to speak for that shot. We really wanted to create an illusion of a real concert in a situation where you really can’t have a real concert. And we wanted the scene to speak loudly in terms of music, acting, and color. That was the basic idea: a lot of movement, a lot of color just as Sherin is screaming; we wanted the visuals to scream as well.

AD: There is a definite sense of loss about leaving Iran but potentially hope for the future. Was that difficult for you yourself as well?

Farbod Ardebili: Yes, that is a very interesting question. That sense of hope and being lost was basically what I was feeling or what my friends were feeling in Iran playing metal music for close friends or for people we knew that weren’t going to rat us out. You are doing something you love and you have hope for the future no matter how dark the situation is. That was exactly what I was going to show in the movie. People who do underground music in Iran do not necessarily think about themselves as brave people, they’re just people doing what they love and are hoping that some people may hear it and the music will go further out into the world. So, there was hope but at the same time it was a dark situation for the same reason. We were not allowed to officially release our music. We were not allowed to do tours or play public places without being worried about going to jail or putting ourselves at physical risk. That was all we were experiencing and that is what I wanted to show in the movie.

AD: Looking at your credits, you have only done shorts. Is that just a medium that appeals to you or would you like to do feature-length? What has been your process so far?

Farbod Ardebili: For the most part I’ve done short films so far. I love the medium of short films in which I tell a story that is condensed into a few minutes and leaves an impact on the audience. I love that, I love to make people feel something in that short amount of time. But, of course, at some point I would love to make a feature film and that’s actually what I’m doing for my next project. I just don’t see short films as a jumping platform to features. I really believe in the art of storytelling in short films. And I believe it is an amazing platform to impact people in a short amount of time and leave them with something they’re never going to forget.

AD: Can you tell us anything about the feature you are working on?

Farbod Ardebili: Interestingly, the main idea we are working on is a feature version of Forbidden to See Us Scream in Tehran.

AD: You touched on the animation projects you’ve done before. Is that something else you are interested in continuing to do?

Farbod Ardebili: Of course, some of my short films were animated or I’ve had animated elements. And the main reason was I wanted to tell the stories on a larger scale: creating worlds for my stories. I didn’t have the budget to go and make films like that so my only other option was to use animation. So I learned animation and started experimenting with the different sides of animation, then used it to make some of my own movies.

AD: Is there anything you want to leave our readers with?

Farbod Ardebili: I just want to let them know that the film will be available on the Omeleto channel on YouTube in November and would love for them to watch it and let us know what they think.

Forbidden To See Us Scream In Tehran is eligible to be considered for a 2022 Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category.