INTERVIEW - SALAHEDDIN NOORI

YOU THINK ALTHOUGH YOU ARE NOT won the Best Drama award in our LCF’s 3rd Edition.

Interview with director Salaheddin Noori.

In the first place, what got you into filmmaking?

Since childhood, watching movies and feeling full of excitement, I wanted to be a part of this land full of dreams.

How did you come to direct YOU THINK ALTHOUGH YOU ARE NOT?

The film is an adaptation of a short story of the same name by my compatriot writer Navid Farrokhi. When I read this story in a magazine that specializes in short stories, I really liked the tone, narrative, and thought of the story. This story was from the year 2020 and was very forward-looking compared to that time. Of course, the film was made until the production conditions were ready in 2023, which was also a new subject at that time. A few months after the film was made, with the advancement of artificial intelligence, the story of the film became a reality.

How were your cast & crew found? Had you already worked with some of them?

When we were writing the script, I had Shahriar Rabbani in mind from the very beginning for the role of Navid because of his facial features, style, and expression. He is a well-known actor and presenter in Iran and has a film education. He accepted the offer to play this role, which was a very good collaboration.As for the role of Forough, Ms. Pegah Saeedi was a candidate for this role along with several other actresses, and in the end, she was chosen.

The interesting thing about choosing the male actor in black was that until the day before filming, another actor was supposed to play this role, but due to a problem that occurred to him, the current actor was replaced. This change was in the film’s favor, and the replacement actor coped well with the role.

The cinematographer, makeup artist, and sound designer of the film were people I had experience working with from my previous film. The co-producer of the film was an old friend of mine, and the set designer of the film is my wife.

When & where was the film shot, and how much time did you have?

Filming took place in the first month of spring 2023, coinciding with the Iranian New Year (solar New Year) and during the Eid holidays. We had planned to film for 3 days, which was completed in 2 days, considering the actors' abilities and also because of the mock-up we had made before filming.

The filming location was on the third floor of an apartment that belonged to one of my family acquaintances in the Yousef Abad neighborhood of Tehran. I had also used this same location in a sequence from my first film.

At the Little Croco Festival, we enjoy anecdotes. What was the shooting’s most difficult moment? Or was there a magical scene or shot that everyone loved to do?

There is a flashback in the film where the man puts a cockroach on the woman's lips and the man runs away after doing so, and the woman follows him until the man goes into the room and closes the door. In the original cut, the door was supposed to open after the man enters the room and the male actor changes clothes, and in a jump cut, we would see the woman in the present with a half-rotated camera. Unfortunately, due to the small hallway in that room, the camera couldn't rotate properly. Also, once the male actor hit the filming equipment and got a little hurt, although it was minor.

In the sequence where Forough is cutting the cake and talking to Navid, the camera movement design was unclear to the crew, but they trusted me and something good happened. Another interesting thing about this sequence is that it is without cuts (sequence-plan).

Also, in the sequence before the end, accurately calculating Navid's profile when the two main characters were talking, and this shot had to be filmed without interruption, was a challenging task that was ultimately accomplished successfully.

Do talk about your film’s postproduction!

I entrusted the editing of the film to one of my classmates in filmmaking classes, who had a talent for editing during his studies, and we developed a good collaboration. The music for the film was also composed by a young composer; this was his first experience in film music, and I think he handled it well.

The sound design was the responsibility of my close friend Erfan Yazdi, who is one of the prominent sound designers in Iranian cinema.

Where can people watch YOU THINK ALTHOUGH YOU ARE NOT?

In Iran, there is a platform specialized in showing short films and documentaries called Hashour, where the film can be viewed.

Any past or future projects you would like to mention?

After making this film, in May of this year I made a new short film in the psychological drama genre in the form of a black comedy, which I hope will be a step forward, but my ultimate goal is to make feature films in the fantasy genre and depict Iranian legends, which is a bit ambitious considering that I am an independent filmmaker and do not have financial support, but I will do my best to achieve it.