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Synopsis

- Nader Malek Kandi and Mehran Tamadon
In a desert, on a hill, men and women in chadors and children wander through a vast open air «museum» dedicated to the memory of the martyrs of the Iran-Iraq war. It is Iranian New Year and we are close to the Iraqi border. I’m following my guide. He’s tall and charismatic. His name is Nader Malek-Kandi. For almost three years, I’ve decided to immerse myself among the most extremist supporters of the Islamic republic of Iran (the Bassidjis), to get a better understanding of their way of thinking.
We come from the same country yet there’s an enormous gulf between us. Being an Iranian man living in France, an atheist, and son of Communists activists under the Shah’s rule should put me on a collision course with the convictions of those who follow the current regime’s dogmas. And yet a dialogue opens up. However,
beneath the charm offensive and the rhetoric, the moments of frankness and the reality of the political and religious system they support, to what extent are our respective beliefs likely to accommodate a real understanding of ‘the other’?
THE PRINCIPAL PROTAGONISTS OF THE FILM
Among the numerous people I met and among those who agreed to be in the film, two have played a particularly important role in my comprehension of the world of the Bassidjis. It is around them and our relationship that the film is structured.

Nader Malek-kandi, 46 years old
He was seventeen at the time of the Revolution and was part of the movement that followed Khomeini. At the beginning of the war, Nader left for the battlefront, followed shortly thereafter by his brother. He once told me: " In eight years, I never feared death. But God did not choose me. I remain and my brother is gone. God has only rewarded me with a few wounds”.
Even though he is not an official member of the Bassidj, he considers himself as such. The official rhetoric says that anyone who is devoted to the cause of God and the Islamic republic is a Bassidji. To be a Bassidji is therefore more a question of a particular mentality, a state of mind of one who is devoted to a cause and who is not afraid to die.
Today, Nader Malek-Kandi manages a publishing house for religious propaganda books. He publishes the speeches of Khamenei, historical propaganda texts, manuals of religious practice etc.
I met him in Tehran during the traditional mourning ceremony. He appreciated my approach and agreed to participate in the film.

Mohammad Pourkarim, 28 years old
A young Bassidji born after the Revolution who comes from a family of veterans, he has a great admiration for war martyrs and idealizes the values of the original Bassidjis. As an active militant, he spends a lot of time in the Bassidj of his district talking to people and debating religious questions, the war etc.
Feeling responsible for countering the risk of a drift towards non-religious values that posed by social developments, he has taken over the direction of the Bassidj base of Nasr, one of the smarter neighborhoods in Tehran.
I met him at the frontier during the Iranian New Year annual pilgrimage to the war battle sites.
TECHNICAL LIST
Documentary, 114 minutes – Digibeta – original version Farsi, French and English subtitles
Director
Mehran TAMADON
Writer
Mehran TAMADON with the collaboration of Laetitia LEMERLE
Producers
Catherine DUSSART – CDP (France) / Franck HULLIARD – INTERLAND (France) /
Elena TATTI et Thierry SPICHER – BOX PRODUCTIONS (Switzerland) / Mehran TAMADON (Iran)
Camera
Majid GORJIAN
Editing
Andrée DAVANTURE and Rodolphe MOLLA
Sound editing and mixing
Jérôme CUENDET - VPS Prod, Lausanne
Color grading
Cécile CHEURLOT
Translation and subtitles
Caroline LEMERLE
Graphics
François DULEX - OFICINA
Production assistants
Elodie BRUNNER and Pascale PIGEON
Administrator
Béatrice HANNEQUIN
With the support of
Centre National de la Cinématographie
MEDIA Plus Programme de la Communauté Européenne - Slate funding
And the participation of
Fonds Sud Cinéma, Ministère de la culture et de la communication–CNC, Ministère des affaires étrangères, France
La Télévision Suisse Romande – Unité des films documentaires

