The press conference for the movie “The Heart of Raqqah” directed by Kheirollah Taqianipour was held on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at Milad Tower as part of the 42nd Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF).In December 2023, the Israeli regime assassinated the Iranian military advisor, Razi Mousavi in a drone strike on Damascus, Syria. Taghianipour, the director of this film, said at the beginning of the meeting: I am so lucky to be here among you at the Fajr International Film Festival. As for the story and how true it was he continued: I wrote the romance and the drama of the story myself, but we also had penetrated into the hearts of ISIS. In response to a question about the oversimplification of the enemy in this film, Taghianipour said: This is your point of view, Abu Essam was not a simple person in the film. “When we arrived in Syria, the country was still insecure and the Zionist regime had started bombing, I prayed every day for the safety of the whole crew. I would like to thank all those who created security for us in Syria. Especially martyr Seyed Razi Mousavi and Amir Hossein Jan Panah. Our biggest challenge in Syria was to get back to the hotel safely.” stated Taqianipour.
“This film was a collage of real stories. The martyr helped us a lot in the production of this work from the first day to the end. After his martyrdom, we decided to dedicate this film to him. This film is not about the martyr’s life”, said Saeed Parvini, the film’s producer.
Mohammadreza Sharifinia, the veteran actor said in the other part of the meeting: I just came to thank my friends because of their hard works as it was a very difficult demanding job. “Heart of Raqqa” was one of the hardest jobs I have ever done. I don’t know, maybe I’m old too!
Shadi Mokhtari, the only actress of the film said: Compared to my previous works, this role was very different. The challenge of learning Arabic and Syrian dialect was difficult. Also, makeup , the costume and filming in Syria. Being in a war-torn zone, I got terrified, but never remorseful. She went on to say that the location of the shooting plays a key role in making the film more realistic. In response to the question of how much of the explosions were special effects, Kheirullah Taghianipour explained: Anyway, we were shooting in both Tehran and Syria, and we had to shoot long shots as well as some closed scenes in Syria and Iran. Davoud Mohammadi, director of photography, said: Our effort was to create an environment that is not clichéd. Many war movies are influenced by Saving Private Ryan with so much moves and shocks. Since we also had a love story in the film, we chose warm atmospheres. The cinematic work explores the resistance front in Syria. The film, which was produced in Arabic, has been shot in Iran and Syria. The cast list includes Farhad Qaemian, Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia, Hedayat Hashemi, Abdolreza Nasseri, Mostafa Sassani, and Shadi Mokhtari.
The FIFF is a major film event, which is organized every year to celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Presided by Mojtaba Amini, the 42nd edition of Iran’s largest annual film festival will be held from February 1-11, 2024, in Tehran.
Heart of Raqqah, a Film Dedicated to Razi Mousavi
