Lotus Synopsis
Lotus is based on the filmmaker’s personal experience of being an Iranian living in Italy. Intrigued by the type of “information” that Italians receive about Iran, the filmmaker found herself having to respond to unexpected questions that implied a clear ignorance about her homeland as well as extremely negative perceptions of Iran.
An investigation into this trend revealed the extensive influence of Italian and Western mass media on public opinion vis-a-vis Iran. This film is mainly addressed to Italian and Western spectators to provoke reflection, to make people more aware of the power of mass media, and to give an authentic glimpse of the current status of Iran and Iranian women.
About the Filmmaker
Hatefeh Majidi was born in Karaj, Iran, in 1986. In 2010 she received her B.A. degree in Film Directing at Soora University, in Tehran, and earned a Master’s of Media Arts from the Fine Arts Academy of Italy.
More from the Filmmaker
To understand the level of knowledge about Iran and Iranian women, we started interviewing strangers in the streets. Later the work continued by confronting experts and journalists who are in Italy but who have never been to Iran. In search of the truth, the director interviewed various types of Iranian women, trying to understand them.
The overwhelming majority of the interviewees held back, withdrew or even asked to cancel the shot; they were afraid of their own oppressive society, and insecure, so it was not easy to draw out the different facets of their thinking.
Having studied media and cinema, I wanted to look for a theme to link my country of origin, Iran, with my host country, Italy, and to explore how Iran is represented through Italian media. I am also interested in women, a subject dear to me, because they continue to have fewer opportunities than men, especially in Iran.
AFTER WATCHING THE FILM:
