CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS
Inspired by the 12th-century Sufi poem Mantiq at-Tayr (Conference of the Birds), this cinematically-projected event in the form of a narrative film portrays a trial in an abandoned space with two characters: a judge and an accused filmmaker. The filmmaker, who made a romantic film to express the distance between himself and his beloved, is arrested for allegedly hypnotizing citizens, causing them to reveal their inner realities in public. Through seven acts, the voiceover guides the viewer on a journey mirroring the birds’ quest through seven valleys in search of the mythical Simurgh, culminating in the Valley of Death.
Inspired by the 12th-century Sufi poem Mantiq at-Tayr (Conference of the Birds), this cinematically-projected event in the form of a narrative film portrays a trial in an abandoned space with two characters: a judge and an accused filmmaker. The filmmaker, who made a romantic film to express the distance between himself and his beloved, is arrested for allegedly hypnotizing citizens, causing them to reveal their inner realities in public. Through seven acts, the voiceover guides the viewer on a journey mirroring the birds’ quest through seven valleys in search of the mythical Simurgh, culminating in the Valley of Death.
Length: 48 Minutes
Screening Formats: Pro Res, Quicktime
Versions: English & Farsi
2011
Cast: Matt Trayonski, Shahryar Shahmatt, Azin Feizabadi
Narrator: Saba Riazi, Azin Feizabadi
Writer, Director, Editor: Azin Feizabadi
Text and Image Contributions: Andrea Geyer, Farkhondeh Shahroudi,
Neda Saeedi, Ernesto Pujol
Director of Photography: Christopher Turiello
Production Manager: Colin Nusbaum, Vladana Ilic, Lukas Brasiskis
Distribution: Arsenal Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V.
Screenings (selection):
The Kitchen, New York, 2011
Berlinale – Forum Expanded, Arsenal Kino Berlin, 2012
Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, 2012
Theater am Marienbad, Freiburg, 2015
Related monitors:
I Confess that I ...
Related stagings:
Poetics, Politics & Love Letters
Notes on Projection
Related displays:
Physical Principles
Felix, what will remain after all this?
Mission (Im)possible
ENQELAB
I Confess that I ...
Related stagings:
Poetics, Politics & Love Letters
Notes on Projection
Related displays:
Physical Principles
Felix, what will remain after all this?
Mission (Im)possible
ENQELAB
Related articles:
منطق الطیر با گویشی نوین در فستیوال برلن, Radio France International, February 2012 © rfi, Shahla Rostami
منطق الطیر با گویشی نوین در فستیوال برلن, Radio France International, February 2012 © rfi, Shahla Rostami
