New Film Explores Trans-sexuality in Iran
By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press Writer
Posted August 31, 2008
VENICE, Italy (AP) - Organizers of the Venice Film Festival
waited to announce "Khastegi (Tedium)" by first-time Iranian
director Bahman Motamedian until the last minute to avoid alerting
authorities to its sensitive subject: transsexuals in modern-day
Iran.
The struggles of seven transsexuals depicted in the film are
made more complicated by Iran's strict gender codes and cultural
obstacles. But Motamedian, who is best known in Iran for theater
work, insists the problems they face are universal to transsexuals
anywhere in the world: finding their identity and seeking
acceptance from their families.
"We know that throughout the world this problems exists,"
Motamedian said. "The idea was to raise awareness among families
especially, because this is the first layer of barrier, and to help
people to realize they are not alone and be able to face the
problem."
Motamedian said he was inspired by the Italian neo-realists in
his filmmaking, and for the movie he cast transsexuals, not
professional actors, to act a role that he created.
"The cast I worked with had no cinematic training, which I
thought would be useful to access things that a professional actor
wouldn't be capable," Motamedian said.
"Usually an actor is trained to show things. I thought it was
important to show what a person was hiding," he told a news
conference Friday.
"Tedium," which is being shown out of competition, delves into
the lives of seven transsexuals as they struggle with the question
of whether they can find true romantic love, whether to go through
with a sex change operation, how to tell their families -- and in
one case, a wife -- and whether to remain in Iran.
Motamedian said the most difficult casting was for Shiva, the
one female-to-male transsexual in the film.
"Right up to the day of shooting I hadn't found a suitable
character to play that role ... and I even thought about cutting
her out," Motamedian said. "As it is a very masculine and
male-oriented society, the thought of really coming out and
revealing that fact they wanted to come out and revealing they are
not a 'real' male ... has real problems. All of the women I met who
wanted to be male didn't want this to be known, for them it was a
real problem coming out."
Motamedian said the movie was made without going through
official channels to get permission -- meaning without government
financial support. But it also means the film won't be shown in
Iran.
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