Maral Pourmandan
Arash - Film - 10min - 2015
presented as part of the exhibition Panorama 17
This film is based on the story of Arash — a Persian mythological hero — and the book Arash, by Bahram Beizai.
When Iran was invaded by the kingdom of Turan, Arash was chosen to fire an arrow; where the arrow entered the ground would be the frontier between Iran and Central Asia. Bahram Beizai’s Arash is a normal man who has never fired an arrow before, yet he manages to save the country by putting his soul and love into this arrow. He dies shortly afterwards.
Symbolically, by going back along the paths of a labyrinth, this film relates the opposite of Arash’s last moments and his ascent to hero status. Arash returns to the heart of modern-day Teheran where, in these difficult times we are living through, the people are still awaiting the return of a hero.
