Radio Dreams
Radio Dreams is a 2016 United States-Iranian film by Iranian born film maker Babak Jalali.[3] Inspired by a group of real life Iranian Metallica fans, calling themselves the Persian Magnetic,[3] and the realities of expatriate life of the Iranian diaspora in the United States, Radio Dreams won the 2016 Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam,[3] and Jalali[2] won the Best Director Award at Tarkovsky Fest in Russia. In 2016 the film was shown at the 32nd Warsaw Film Festival in the "Discoveries" section.[4]
Radio Dreams | |
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Radio Dreams promotional poster | |
رویاهای رادیویی | |
Directed by | Babak Jalali[1] |
Produced by | Marjaneh Moghimi[1] |
Written by | Babak Jalali, Aida Ahadiany[1] |
Cinematography | Noaz Deshe[1] |
Production company | Butimar[1] |
Distributed by | Reel Suspects[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | United States Iran |
Language | Persian |
Budget | US$ 300,000[2] |
Plot
Hamid Royani is the station manager at Pars Radio, the Bay Area's premiere Persian language radio station. As everyone at Pars looks forward to a continuously delayed jam session by Afghan rock band Kabul Dreams with metal legends Metallica, Royani despairs. As a respected man of the arts in his homeland, he must struggle against the commercial demands of the station's owners; erudite and eloquent in his own tongue, he must face the ups and downs of everyday life in a land where he can hardly speak the language.
Cast
- Mohsen Namjoo as Hamid Royani
- Lars Ulrich as himself
- Boshra Dastournezhad as Maral Afshar
- Kabul Dreams (Sulyman Qardash, Siddique Ahmed, Raby Adib) as themselves
- Bella Warda as Sherbet
- Mohammad Talani as Reza Gerami
- Babak Mortazavi as Jamshid
- Mahmood Schricker as Morad
- Keyumars Hakim as Sohrab Afshar
- Leila Shahrestani as Leila Shahrestani
- Ali Tahbaz as Yashar
- Mansur Taeed as Dr. Jim Rakhshandeh
- Larry Laverty as TV reporter
- Kyle Kernan as wrestling coach
- Casimir Carothers as little drumming boy
- Fat Dog as guitar salesman
- Litz Plummer as opera singer
Production
Marjaneh Moghimi, a producer of community documentaries, was looking to produce her first fictional feature and approached Babak Jalali to helm it.[2] A personal friend of Mohsen Namjoo, Moghimi introduced him to Jalali;[2] at the same time Kabul Dreams had just decided to relocate to the United States, and around these cast members the story was written. With a minimal budget of US$300,000, a virtue was made of necessity and the story that developed staged the action within the span of a day within the confines of a radio station.[2] This setting in turn was to play a part in the lighting and camera setups used by cinematographer Noaz Deshe.[1] The design of the film poster was made by Alexis Ink, an illustrator hired by design agency ceft and company new york.[5] Art Direction completed by Christian Hamrick.
Reception
Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "Presenting a nuanced, intelligent and consistently droll take on hot-button subjects of immigration, identity and cultural assimilation..." and that it "stand[s] comparison with the finest radio-themed enterprises of the current century..."[1]
Writing in Variety, critic Catherine Bray called the film a "quietly satisfying gem..." and a "deserving Tiger competition winner at Rotterdam..."[6]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | International Film Festival Rotterdam | Tiger Award | Radio Dreams | Won[3][6] |
See also
References
- Young, Niel (3 February 2016). "'Radio Dreams': Rotterdam Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- Goodfellow, Melanie (31 January 2016). "Tiger directors: Babak Jalali, 'Radio Dreams'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- Griffiths, Michael (4 March 2016). "Metallica and their secret 'Persian Magnetic' fans ignoring the ban on metal music in Iran". The Independent. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- https://wff.pl/en/film/radio-dreams%7C Radio Dreams at the 32nd Warsaw Film Festival.
- "collateral: radio dreams film poster design for butimar productions | ceft and company new york". www.ceftandcompany.com. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
- Bray, Catherine (10 February 2016). "Film Review: 'Radio Dreams'". Variety. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
External links
- "مهاجرت، محسن نامجو و متالیکا؛ گفتوگو با کارگردان 'رویاهای رادیویی'". BBC. BBC Persian Service. February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- "گفتگوی اختصاصی با بابک جلالی و مرجانه مقیمی در مورد فیلم سینمایی". Persian Magnetic. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- "Radio Dreams". IFFR.com. International Film Festival Rotterdam. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- Radio Dreams at Reel Suspects (distribution company website)
- Radio Dreams on IMDb