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TEHRAN – Over 100 Afghan immigrants living in Tehran sat to watch “A Few Cubic Meters of Love”, a drama on migration and love, at Tehran’s Sepideh Cinema on Tuesday.
The film has been directed and produced by Afghan brothers Jamshid Mahmudi and Navid Mahmudi who have lived in Iran for the past 30 years.
The story of the film is set somewhere in the outskirts of Tehran, where a small factory illegally employs Afghan asylum seekers who live with their families in old containers or modest shacks in nearby shanty towns. Saber, a young Iranian worker, secretly meets Marona, daughter of Abdolsalam, an Afghan worker. A love story unfolds.
This was the first time a large number of Afghan nationals sat together to watch a film in a charity screening of the film arranged by the producers, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Wednesday.
Addressing the audience before the film screening, Navid Mahmudi said, “I am happy you are watching this film because you are those who should watch the film.
“This film was made based on the joint concern of me and you, and I hope we can be kinder to one another after watching the film,” he added.
He said that the film has not been popular among the Afghan nationals and asked the audience to recommend to others to watch the film.
Pointing to the issue of immigration, he continued, “This film says that all those who have migrated to other countries have their problems, so we should not add to their pains by our words and looks.”
The young boys and girls did not believe the producers of the film are Afghan nationals but were convinced when they met producer Navid Mahmudi and spoke with him after the film screening.
Most of the audience left their messages and comments on notes handed to the Managing director of the theater Hall Hossein Keshari.
They were thankful for the respect they had received in the theater because they have experienced many acts of disrespect in many other locations across the city.
“In the film the Afghans and the conditions overwhelming the immigrants have been portrayed. These types of films help alter peoples’ opinions about the immigrants and the Afghans have better feelings to see themselves in a film that does not intend to mock their accent,” reads one of the notes.
An Afghan boy also explained that he himself had experienced most of the events happening in the film and it is good if the film helps change the opinion of the Iranian nationals towards Afghan immigrants.
RM/YAW
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