TEHRAN -- A discussion session on the movie “Hamun and Darya” directed by Ebrahim Foruzesh was held on Saturday at the Sahra Cinema Hall.

The director, cinematographer Turaj Aslani and critic Mehrzad Danesh attended the session which was held to review the movie screened earlier that day for reporters at the Sahra Hall. The film is an entry in the national competition section of the 26th Fajr Film Festival.
Foruzesh first explained the reasons why he had made use of regional desert scenery in his movie, saying, “The screenplay was based on regional and traditional characteristics which were of great significance for me.”
“The book ‘Hamun and Darya’ written by Abbas Jahangirian also had the same regional quality which further encouraged me to shoot the movie in the desert terrains of Kashan and Torbat-e Jam in Khorasan Razavi province,” he noted.
He continued, “Some of the major characteristics of desert lands are their ancient traditions, languages and music. Wherever one goes in the desert, these aspects are very evident.”
On being asked why he chose the story of “Hamun and Darya” for his movie, he replied, “The first thing which is important for me is the potential a story has for being adapted into a film. There can be as many films as there are novels in the world, but not all novels have the capacity to be turned into movies. I believed ‘Hamun and Darya’ had the potential.”
On choosing the cast, he explained, “The leading character of the movie is in his teens and we needed to choose a non-actor due to certain changes that take place at this age in a young adult. We selected him from amongst the students of a high school in Torbat-e Jam.”
Cinematographer Turaj Aslani, who also attended the session, said, “I mostly work on projects which focus on nature. In this assignment, the atmosphere and the features of the desert are sensed totally. A desert is composed of various textures and this was a new experience for me which I enjoyed and from which I learned a lot.”
“Hamun and Darya” features the story of the young adult Hamun who falls in love with Darya, but Darya’s parents do not agree with their marriage.