Here is an interview with Masoud Kiani, Director of the short movie "A dying flame"

What was your motivation for making the film?

According to Mohammad Ali Bahmani (an Iranian poet and writer), the work of art choosing us, we won't decide to choose them.

I had a classmate called Sina, He was very suspicious of everyone and considered all the normal activities of his classmates to be a conspiracy against him. He was very alone, and he had no friends. He even considered the help of teachers as a conspiracy against him. The character of Sina had always dried up in my mind. Years later, through a friend who was studying psychology, I realized that Sina was suffering from paranoid mental disorder. After that I saw an isolated house, and I thought this house is just as lonely, remote and ruined, just like Sina.

It was time to get SIna out of my mind and make up a story for him.

How did the idea of the film come to you?

About five years ago, a friend showed me his place, and we decided to write a script about the place. I loved the location, the old, abandoned, half-ruined house . After a few months, the script was ready and we were supposed to start production as soon as possible, but unfortunately, the demolition the house started a few months earlier and the film project was canceled.

For several years, the story of that dilapidated house did not leave my mind, and as time passed, the story took on a better shape until I decided to produce it in a similar location. After a year of searching, the location was finally found and we started pre-productions.

What is your main goal of filmmaking in Iran?

I think a filmmaker or any other artist can be more successful in his own country because the culture of that border and environment is institutionalized within him and he can also have a better and unique idea on that area. In addition, working in Iran with those who really love cinema and filmmaking, feels really good.

How concerned is the subject of the movie and why did you choose this one?

With a little knowledge about paranoid disorder, we find that most people around us are more or less affected by it, most of them are unaware of this issue, and it causes the disorder to become more and more acute. With the end of the global quarantine resulting from the covid 19 pandemic and the increase of migrants, we should expect a huge increase in this mental disorder in the entire world.

How did you come to these cast and crew and what are your criteria for selection?

The most interesting part of choosing the cast was meeting Sajjad Mirsaid, the actor of the movie. It was a year ago that I bought things from his store and little by little I got to know him and realized that he is also an actor . I told him the story of my movie, he liked it and after deciding to cooperate, he was finally added to the team as an acting coach. After auditions, we realized that no one is closer to this character better than he was. Finally, it was decided that he would take on the role of Sina, and he played it really well.

What were the Problems with the film production?

No production can be completed without problems, and  "A DYING FLAME" project had lots of them. There were Concerns about coldness of that winter night, on the other hand, due to the old building where the filming took place, the roof was about to collapse and it might hurting the crew.

But the worst of all was the breakdown of our old car, which broke its engine. In the middle of the night in the mountainous area, we either had to close the work or we needed a miracle, which fortunately a miracle happened and we were able to filming in a different way.

Tell us about the film funding and the challenges?

This movie was made with a personal budget, from bank loans to the participation of friends in financing. Undoubtedly, this type of financing is full of challenges.

What are your expectations of your movie?

I hope to get good results for this movie. I believe that cinema in Iran, like the international one, has been left behind in terms of storytelling, and the lack of good stories is obvious. I am happy that we have produced a storytelling movie. So I am optimistic about the result of it.