Babajoon; A Film Remembering Iran in Israel

Babajoon is a film by Yuval Delshad, the first Persian film from Israel, narrating the migration of an Iranian Jewish family from Shiraz to a village in Israel. The film depicts the lives of three generations of Iranian Jews in Israel. Yuval Delshad, the 43-year-old director of the film, shares with Radio Farda about his family's life in Israel, which is the foundation of this film: "My parents were born in Shiraz and migrated to Israel before the 1979 Revolution. After the Revolution, the rest of the family migrated to Israel. My parents traveled back to Iran a year before the Revolution. My father filmed all of Shiraz, his hometown, and even the place where he was born with an 8mm camera." The film Babajoon is a response from Delshad to his parents' lives in the newly established Israel and their longing for Iran. He understands how much his parents miss Iran and how much they wish to return. When he was born, Israel was facing many problems, with Jewish immigrants arriving from all over the world to this small land. Delshad himself states that being an Iranian immigrant in such conditions was very difficult. His parents, alongside his grandparents, try to rebuild their lives from scratch. Babajoon is not an autobiography but rather pieces of Delshad's memories from his grandparents' stories about life in Iran and their family business. He considers the film a free adaptation of the Delshad family's life. At the time of Israel's establishment, Jews from around the world headed to Israel. Eastern Jews from countries like Morocco, Iraq, Syria, and Iran faced additional hardships upon arrival. They did not know Hebrew and were unfamiliar with English, the language of the founders of the new country. Farhad Moradian, an Iranian Jew residing in Israel, believes that these Jews often came from rural areas in Iran and did not have a prosperous life. Additionally, he cites the lack of media as another factor contributing to these Jews' unfamiliarity with their new lives in Israel. Delshad made the Babajoon narrative in Persian, depicting a family settled in a village in Israel where they all spoke Persian. The film portrays the struggle between two generations, a struggle intensified by migration. The grandfather attempts to revive the family business of turkey farming in the new country and insists that his grandson, "Moti," continue this profession like his grandfather and father, but Moti does not want to stay in this job. He has attended a Hebrew-speaking school and speaks Hebrew, preferring not to speak Persian. The film won the award at the Israeli Oscars in 2015 and was selected by Israel this year to participate in the Oscars. Farhad Moradian comments on the reactions of Iranian residents in Israel: "In a situation where there are hostilities between Israel and Iran, one can understand the feelings of Iranians well because they love both countries. The Persian nature of this film has made Iranians in Israel feel proud." Yuval Delshad is very happy that he could use Iranian actors and the Persian language in the film. He has included Iranian Jews residing in Israel in the film, but for the lead role of Moti's father, Isaac, he invited Navid Negahban, an Iranian-American actor from the series Homeland and The Stoning of Soraya M. He explains this choice to Radio Farda: "I initially met Navid via Skype and then went to Los Angeles to see him, and I realized he was exactly the person who should play this role. When I gave him the script to read, I saw tears streaming down his face several times. He was shocked and said, 'This is my life.'" Delshad states that many Iranians, both in Israel and Iran, have been affected by the film, and he has received numerous messages from Iranians about it. He even requested permission from Iranian officials to travel to Iran to shoot the film in Shiraz, which was denied. He wishes for Iranians to see this film and share their opinions. Delshad says, "I don't care if the film goes to the black market. I want Iranians to see this film. I respect the culture and people of Iran and want to show how we can talk without politics. That's why I used a Muslim Iranian actor for my film, not an Israeli Jewish actor." Delshad hopes that one day his film will be shown at Iranian festivals like the Fajr Film Festival, a wish he currently considers impossible.