Radio Dreams
Radio Dreams promotional poster
رویاهای رادیویی
Directed byBabak Jalali[1]
Written byBabak Jalali, Aida Ahadiany[1]
Produced byMarjaneh Moghimi[1]
CinematographyNoaz Deshe[1]
Production
company
Butimar[1]
Distributed byReel Suspects[1]
Release date
  • February 1, 2016 (2016-02-01) (Rotterdam)
Running time
91 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Iran
LanguagesEnglish, Persian
BudgetUS$ 300,000[2]

Radio Dreams is a 2016 American film by Iranian-born film director 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.[4]

The film Radio Dreams won the 2016 Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam,[3] and Jalali[2] won the Best Director Award at Andrey Tarkovsky Film Festival in Russia. In 2016 the film was shown at the 32nd Warsaw Film Festival in the "Discoveries" section.[5]

Plot

Hamid Royani is the station manager at Pars-FM Radio, the Bay Area's premiere Persian language radio station.[4] As everyone at Pars-FM 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[4]
  • Lars Ulrich as himself[6][4]
  • Boshra Dastournezhad as Maral Afshar[7]
  • Kabul Dreams (Sulyman Qardash, Siddique Ahmed, Raby Adib) as themselves[6][8]
  • Bella Warda as Sherbet[9]
  • 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 design agency, Ceft and Company New York.[10]

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..."[11]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Recipient Notes
2016 International Film Festival Rotterdam Tiger Award Won Radio Dreams [3][11][6]
2016 Seattle International Film Festival Special Jury Mention Won Radio Dreams [12]
2016 Durban International Film Festival Best Actor: Mohsen Namjoo Won Radio Dreams [13][9]
2016 Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival Best Director Won Radio Dreams [13]
2016 International Film Festival Rotterdam Best Film Won Radio Dreams [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Young, Niel (3 February 2016). "'Radio Dreams': Rotterdam Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Goodfellow, Melanie (31 January 2016). "Tiger directors: Babak Jalali, 'Radio Dreams'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kenny, Glenn (2017-06-01). "Review: 'Radio Dreams' Builds a Spiritual Home for Stateless Souls". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  5. ↑ Radio Dreams at the 32nd Warsaw Film Festival.
  6. 1 2 3 "مهاجرت، محسن نامجو و متالیکا؛ گفت‌و‌گو با کارگردان 'رویاهای رادیویی'". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). February 6, 2016. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  7. ↑ "Radio Dreams will make you tune in". NOW Magazine. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  8. ↑ Allen, Nick (June 2, 2017). "Radio Dreams movie review & film summary (2017)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  9. 1 2 "Afghan Rockers Meet Metallica In Award-Winning Iranian Movie". Kayhan Life. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  10. ↑ "collateral: radio dreams film poster design for butimar productions | ceft and company new york". www.ceftandcompany.com. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  11. 1 2 Bray, Catherine (10 February 2016). "Film Review: 'Radio Dreams'". Variety. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Huey, Sara. "Captain Fantastic, Gleason, Girl Asleep Win Top Awards at the 42nd Seattle International Film Festival". Siff.net. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  13. 1 2 3 "Radio Dreams: A Tower Theater Exclusive". Miami Art Guide. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.