Fariborz Kamkari, Director of 'Forbidden Season', Narrates Threats and Permanent Exit from Iran

Fariborz Kamkari is the creator of the film 'Forbidden Season'; a film that began production in Iran in 2003 but the crew could not complete all the shots due to sensitivities surrounding the film's subject, namely the serial murders by Saeed Hanaei in Mashhad. In a detailed interview with 'Cinema Censorship' on Radio Farda, Mr. Kamkari elaborates on the events surrounding the making of this film, the aftermath, and threats from security agencies. 'Forbidden Season' was never screened in Iran but participated in the San Sebastián Festival in 2005 and was publicly released in Italy. According to Mr. Kamkari, the film combines two real-life stories: one about the murders by Saeed Hanaei at the end of the 1990s and another about a girl killed by her brother, who was a member of a cult. The director uses the story of radical Muslim sects in Iran as a basis for a seemingly police-mystery narrative to critique religious extremism. Fariborz Kamkari mentions that to obtain filming permits in Iran, he submitted a different screenplay, and eventually, when this was revealed during production, he and his team could no longer shoot all the scenes. Using a trick that can be heard in 'Cinema Censorship', he ultimately smuggled the film's negatives out of Iran and completed the technical stages of the film in Italy. However, calls from Iran drew him back into the country; his last trip to Iran was accompanied by serious threats. After that, he permanently left Iran and never returned to his homeland. Fariborz Kamkari has now been residing in Italy for about 20 years, continuing his filmmaking there. He mentions in this interview that he became interested in cinema by watching versions of Italian films, including 'Rome, Open City', during his school years in the 'educational affairs' section. Ultimately, fate brought him to the very country where he became acquainted with cinema in his youth. Fariborz Kamkari studied theater at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. During his university years, he was imprisoned due to his political views and received conditional sentences. In 2001, he directed his first feature film titled 'The Video Tape Found by Fariborz Kamkari in a Trash Can' without a permit, which made it to the Venice Film Festival. In 2003, he began working on 'Forbidden Season'. In this film, Faramarz Gharibian plays a police inspector named Habib, who goes to Mashhad to find clues regarding the serial murders of some sex workers. In this city, he encounters a religious cult that issued the orders for the murders. Habib faces obstacles while pursuing the case and is eventually sidelined from it. Nevertheless, he continues to seek the killer. Fariborz Kamkari also discusses his cinematic activities after 'Forbidden Season', including films made and screened outside Iran.