TEHRAN -- “Jamshid and Khorshid” director Behruz Yaghmaian criticized the delay in screening the animation movie and announced that as long as proper conditions are not provided, the animation will not go on screen.

In a session held here on Saturday at the venue of Iran’s Critics and Theatrical Writers Society, several cast and crew members of the production reviewed the work and held talks.
Director Yaghmaian was first to speak and said, “We spent four years producing the animation, a result of our sum total of 30 years experience. We admit that the film has its weak points, but we sensed a vacuum in Iran’s cinema in the area of animation, and this was the motivation for us to produce “Jamshid and Khorshid.”
“We worked on the basis of a trial and error strategy and tried to learn more and not to be afraid of our failures. This animation trained many individuals in different cinematic fields,” he added.
Producer Nader Yaghmaian was next who said, “Administrators of Iran’s cinema did not support us. We worked with all our love and devotion all these years and aimed to promote Iran’s cinema. But we have not been able to get the opportunity to screen the animation in which over 70 people collaborated.
He continued, “As long as there is no good time for its screening, we will not screen it. This animation must be seen, if the values and efforts by the team are not observed, then nobody will invest in these kinds of productions.
“The animation was produced with my personal capital and that of my brother. The Documentary and Experimental Film Center provided 5 percent of the funding and Farabi Cinematic Foundation also dedicated a loan to the project. The entire project took 5b rials (about 5m$),” he stated.
Film expert Masud Alamdari also present at the session and remarked, “Not every actor has the potential to speak as an animation character but this talent is clearly observed with the characters in this animation. Dubbing an animated film is a hard task.”
Veteran Iranian actors Parviz Parastuii, Amin Hayaii, Habib Rezaii and Rambod Javan and actresses Sorayya Qasemi and Taraneh Alidusti are featured as the voices of the animation’s characters.
Habib Rezaii, who was in charge of selecting the actors for dubbing, continued. “We have seen substantial progress in animation over the past few years in producing ‘Jamshid and Khorshid’. I personally am satisfied with the selection I made and I think this was a good experience for me. Some of the actors like Parviz Parastuii and Sorayya Qasemi have been working as dubbers.”
Actress and dubber Sorayya Qasemi also expressed her satisfation on collaborating with the team and said, “When I work on a foreign film, the production process is less of a concern to me. But my interest in and sensitivity for an Iranian production heightens my sense of pride.”
Producer Yaghmaian also referred to the major theme of the work and said, “’Jamshid and Khorshid’ was made based on Iranian myths and enjoys spiritual significance. The way Jamshid strives to save Khorshid refers to different concepts observed in Persian literature. Man goes through trials of water, wind, soil and fire to achieve maturity.”
The animation is about Jamshid who falls in love with Princess Khorshid. Her father, the King, decides to call all eligible young men to participate in a competition. Meanwhile, Khorshid is kidnapped and Jamshid begins a long journey to find her.
Photo: A scene from “Jamshid and Khorshid”