Schanak; Iranian Falcons in the UAE

"Schanak" is the title of a film by Maziar Moshtagh Gohari that was showcased at the 17th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival; a film about Iranian falcons. From the beginning, we encounter a different kind of film that attempts to communicate with its audience solely through imagery. We see locals whose actions we initially do not understand, but later realize they are hunting falcons. They first pull mice out of holes to serve as bait for the falcons and then capture the falcons in a completely traditional manner. The entire film is almost devoid of dialogue, and the few simple exchanges between the locals are not comprehensible to the audience. In the second part, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates, we hear only a couple of simple dialogues in Arabic and English that do not play a significant role in the film. Thus, the film begins with a major challenge: Can an audience be engaged for seventy minutes without dialogue while following the fate of the falcons? There is no doubt that this choice inherently makes Schanak a different film, though it is not easy for every viewer to watch. The filmmaker's courage in this choice is commendable, but the problem arises when the film is lengthy and the images become repetitive. The lack of a narrative and dialogue places the filmmaker's focus on visuals, but alongside images that lack consistency—sometimes calculated and precise, and other times with hasty and improvised frames—the length of the sequences tires the viewer. At the beginning of the film, we are faced with a long and detailed introduction that does little to aid the main characters of the film—the falcons. Observing the locals and dialogues we do not understand presents images that could have easily been shortened, allowing the audience to connect with the falcons sooner. The main theme of the film, however, is flying with the falcons and following their bitter fate. After being captured, the falcons are sold to brokers, sometimes with their eyes sewn shut so they cannot see anything. The brokers take the falcons to the UAE to participate in falcon hunting competitions. The film attempts to maintain a distance and merely narrate a rather unpleasant situation that may be harder for a Western audience—who are accustomed to numerous laws against animal cruelty—to tolerate. However, the filmmaker tries to poetically compensate for this distance through the inclusion of Balochi couplets (Likoo) in the film; verses that are sometimes very beautiful and convey a different feeling for the audience to accompany the falcons. In the end, the balance tips slightly in favor of the falcons. We understand that all the suffering of these birds is due to a few individuals who only want to entertain themselves; entertainment that does not align well with contemporary human societal standards in support of animals. The final images of the film show the captive birds, accompanied by an empty sky that is their true home. The poetry disappears, and the subtitle simply settles on one word: flight. On one hand, this flight takes on dual meanings: it depicts both the concept of freedom and the release of the falcons with the contradiction present in their current situation, and on the other hand, it reminds us of the filmmaker's return (flight from the UAE) towards home; a home where the falcons suffer across the waters.