The Worldwide Release of Polaris, Starring Bahram Radan and Alicja Bachleda
Culture and Entertainment Blog, Kodoom.com Editorial:
Fans of Bahram Radan can now see him speak English in Polaris, an English language suspenseful romantic drama and a joint American-Iranian film production now available to stream on Amazon Prime and iTunes.
Although Iranian films are not allowed to show men and women actors touch each other in any way, and Iranian actresses are not allowed to show their hair even outside Iran, but since Polaris is filmed outside Iran casting a non-Iranian actress, and given President Rohani's moderate stance on arts, the film is approved for limited screening in Iran, with some modifications.
Starring Bahram Radan as Poorya and Alicja Bachleda as Baran, Polaris portrays a young immigrant journalist, half Iranian-half German, who suffers from PTSD. The movie was women-centered and the writers, producer, director, editor and most key crew members behind the scene were women. Polaris won the best picture at the Culver city Film festival (2016) and the California Women Film festival (2017) where it was nominated for the best director and best actress as well. The suspenseful drama has been shown in theatres in Iran and several other film festivals such as Silicon Beach Film Festival.
Written by award-winning playwright Naghmeh Samini and Soudabeh Moradian, Polaris was scored by multi-award winning composer Karen Homayounfar and produced by Christina Jo’Leigh (IMDB Link).
Co-starring Coby Ryan McLaughlin, Roya Taymourian, and Elisabeth Röhm, Polaris was filmed in Los Angeles, Seattle and Tehran. The film is "a rare Iranian-American collaboration, created by female filmmakers. Quite frankly, it’s astonishing the exceptional challenges that would bring,” says Christina Jo’Leigh, p.g.a., Producer of the film and founder of Cinematic Artistry.
Bahram Radan not only starred in the film but came on board as an Executive Producer. “Bahram’s support was instrumental,” says Jo’Leigh. “The pure passion of all involved truly comes through in the film.”
In preparation for her role as Baran, Bachleda, a Mexican-born actress of Polish descent, studied Farsi and consulted privately with former soldiers who had suffered with post-traumatic stress following their military deployment. She has been described as skillfully and authentically portraying the silent struggle of a half-Persian journalist who leaves behind the war-torn countries of the Middle East, only to live in the ongoing aftermath of the trauma. Baran is a shattered, yet fiercely independent woman engaged in a constant struggle to protect her past and escape her inevitable return to the Middle East. But some secrets refuse to stay hidden.
Director Soudabeh Moradian is an accomplished documentarian who was born in Tehran-Iran and graduated from the Art University of Tehran (School of Cinema & Theater) majoring in cinema. She started her career in Film-making, screenwriting and editing in 1995. She has made many TV documentary series about Iranian rural women, and some independent documentaries about “war and madness" such as "Doomsday Machine," "Story of the Land on Ashes," and "Mahin." The subjects of her movies are mainly women, social issues and psychological impacts of war. A number of her movies have been in official selections in various international film festivals. She immigrated to the United States in 2009 and continued her career as a director and editor in California. Her evolving body of work includes over 70 documentaries and TV series for European Channel ARTE and the BBC.
Polaris is a dramatic portrayal of the manifestation of post‐war trauma amidst the desperate perseverance of hope and love. You can view the official trailer HERE and stream the entire movie on Amazon Prime and iTunes.
Related Article:
US-Iranian Indy Film Featuring Radan Wins Culver City Film Award
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