Itálie, Írán, 2017, 61 min
C. Insom, G. Squillacciotti
04.03.2020 20:30
Archipelago is a journey through ancient myths, exorcism rituals, sounds and spirits. In the south of Iran, on a group of islands of the Persian Gulf, humans and spirits coexist since centuries. The culture and traditions of these Islands are the result of the encounters between the African Diaspora, the Arab Countries and Iran, generating a unique system of syncretic beliefs. Spirits of different heritages and origins, called Bād, the Persian word for wind, moving through the air, take possession of the islanders bodies and can only be quieted through a music ceremony called the Zār Ritual. Thanks to an unprecedented access given to foreign film makers, the Film showcases stories and landscape s of the islanders daily life within the frame of the Rituals, giving, through pounding drum rhythms and wailing vocal chorus, a rare and unexpected glimpse of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Camilla Insom, anthropologist lives and works Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. After completing the MA in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Rome Sapienza, she's currently a Phd candidate in Iranian Studies at University of Naples "L'Orientale".She is in charge of the Anthropological Studies of "Sapienza" University of Rome. Giulio Squillacciotti is Artist, Filmmaker and researcher lives and works in Milan and Maastricht. He studied Medieval Art History in Barcelona and Rome. He owns a MA in Visual Arts from the University of Architecture in Venice IUAV, where he studied Art, Philosophy, Semiotics and Anthropology. His work is mainly oriented on storytelling, cultural apexes and the way traditions re- shape in new contexts.
Direction, production, script, edit: Camilla Insom, Giulio Squillacciotti
Camera: Giulio Squillacciotti
Language of dialogues: Persian
Langiage of subtitles: English, Czech
35th Torino Film Festival - in Competition (December 2017); 27th International Festival of Ethnological Film Belgrade
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/234164343