Breakfast with The Visit

Interview with Azadeh Moussavi, director of The Visit

The film is based on a true story. How did you come across it?
This story comes from my own life. When I was a child, my father got arrested for political reasons. My father was a journalist and the government was arresting some political activists in 1981 – my father was one of them. After six months being in jail, they called and told us that we can visit him, but the visit didn’t happen without any specific reason. My mother and I had taken a photo of ourselves to give it to my father. The photo was torn by the prison officer because photos of women were banned in prison and they just accepted my photo as I was a little girl. My father took the half photo when he was released from jail and he pasted the two halves together – you can see part of the photo at the end of the film and on the poster.

What sort of research did you do?
As I’ve lived with these topics for years, I didn’t need much research.

What was the shoot like? Did you film in an actual prison?
Our shooting was in an old prison that has become a museum now.

What sorts of themes and genres are you attracted to as a filmmaker?
I’m interested in social issues and real-life events.

Are there any works of art or films that have inspired you?
I can mention Abbas Kiarostami and Dardenne brothers’ films that have inspired me.

Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
I believe that the topic and story choose the form and genre of the film, and it determines that it should be a short or feature, or even a fiction or documentary.

The Visit is part of International Competition I10.