Abbas Nokhasteh <\/strong>(Executive Producer) is a producer\nand founder of Openvizor arts organisation based in London, UK, Abbas has\nproduced both documentary and fiction features which have premiered at\nSundance, Rotterdam and Cannes, including Alejandro Jodorowsky\u2019s latest film Endless Poetry\u2019, \u2018Chuck Norris vs. Communism\u2019 and \u2018Ballad of Exiles\u2019. He is also co-founder\/director at\nParaa art and architecture practice in Dhaka, Bangladesh and a director at\nStudio 174 arts academy in Downtown Kingston, Jamaica. http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm4451299\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: Tell us a little about yourself, growing up and your passions. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nspent most of my growing up in London, England; and for me since the 1980s it\nbecame a big embrace of amazing mixtures of people and imagination from around\nthe world. I have always had a love for making art, film and performance, in\nany which way. Back then it was an impossible dream and meeting people who did it\nwas a fantastic wild revelation that somehow, no matter what, you can become\nwhat you dream of being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: Did you have any specific influences growing up that lead you towards the\nfilm industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Have\nbeen watching and play-acting movies since I can remember. I love all of old\nHollywood, it’s complex elegant sense of people, life and poetry embodied in\nactors that brought in their incredible life experiences. The international\ncinema and the generations that broke the mold in the 50s and onwards are what\nI learn from today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What are you currently working on? \n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nam working on a range of international feature films and documentaries with\nartists I have collaborated with for many years, appreciating the long process\nfrom development to screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What were your main responsibilities on this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nam the executive producer and my part is to help our director Leesa Gazi to\nbring her vision to screen and audiences. That is the standard job title, but\nit means many things at different times in the journey that makes for the full-\non adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: Can you tell us about your experience in working with the director and\nactors in this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nfollowed our director Leesa Gazi’s open generous curiosity, learning everyday\nabout the incredible women who are equally ready to share and show how to\nexpress their harrowing inspirational lives. The Birangona women refused to be\nobjectified as talking heads and wanted Leesa to join them and be seen\ntogether, women sharing lives together. This sense of togetherness breaks the\nrules of subject and filmmaker that the Birangona want to shatter to open up\ntheir sense of control they have fought for in their own lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What was the most important thing for this movie to achieve from a\nnarrative and character standpoint?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nis humbling and overwhelming to enter a world and experience so many colours\nand emotions of complete love and generosity given freely and wisely be women\nwho have endured and overcome so much violence and hatred with strength and\nfrom within and from each other. This is so much more than a lesson or advice,\nit is the refusal to be a victim that helps us appreciate, understand and\nrespect each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What other films have you produced? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nproduced the documentary ‘Chuck Norris vs Communism’ in Romania about bootleg\nUS movies under communism. In France and Turkey, I produced ‘Ballad of Exiles:\nYilmaz Guney’ about the famed film director Yilmaz Guney and his final film\n‘Duvar’ recreating a Turkish prison in France. In Turkey I produced the feature\nfilm ‘Damat Kogusu \/ Groom’s Block’ about men imprisoned accused of sexual\ncrimes. ‘The Region’ is a Chilean documentary about the power of faith and\nperformance in the face of industrial and environmental calamities. ‘Sufi,\nSaint & Swinger’ is a documentary about an American musical genius heralded\nin Iran in the 1970s only to be attacked in the US in the 1980s. ‘Endless\nPoetry’ is a feature film by Chilean artist Alejandro Jodorowsky an\nautobiographical journey on his journey to magical realism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What makes a film interesting for you? What are three qualities that you\nlook for in a movie? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nthink for every person it is a different motivation that comes from your own\nlife and where your imagination leads you. As someone who migrated and lives\namongst many cultures, the journey is a central theme, and overcoming the\nprejudice that comes from being an outsider. The third element is the bright\nlight of the story that gives you a different and charismatic way of seeing and\nexperiencing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What project helped you launch your career? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nbegan by producing films in the fine art world with Hiwa K, ‘The Bell Project’\nfor Venice Biennale in 2015 and ‘Pre-Image (Blind as the Mother Tongue)’ for\nDocumenta 14 in 2017. You can pick any of the films and documentaries from\nthese times, because they were produced quite closely and opened-up\npossibilities in all sorts of wild directions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What criteria do you use to select a script, screenwriter, director,\netc.?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nbuild with relationships and develop scripts with writers and directors. We\nfollow our curiosity and the wonder of telling a great story, an alchemy that\nis hard to define and always vital to communicate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What are you most proud of? Describe your biggest accomplishment to date?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting\nmovies made, is an amazing to experience, a miracle every time. I am proud of\nthe chance to work for this, and that it always feels impossible until you make\nit and see it. I can say that each of my films have achieved something new in\ngoing beyond what was comfortable or convenient, to try and reach out, and in a way more\nimportantly we didn’t begin thinking this way and are led by the passion for\nthe characters and story that is always my compass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: Do you have any upcoming projects that you\u2019re super excited about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One\nproject in post-production is about New York in the 1980s and that is all I can\nsay at the moment. My other projects are in development and pre-production, all\ninternational, each very different and a while from being able to share as\nloudly as I very much want to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: What advice would you give to someone who is aspiring to enter the film\nindustry, especially as a producer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My\nadvice is talk about what you have done and stay true to that. What is\nimportant and is too often missed is the respect for where the money is coming\nfrom, understanding that it is not yours, and giving complete appreciation and\ncredit to all the people and organizations that help with financing that makes\na film made. This advice is never really openly emphasized but it is the\nunwritten rule that is always noticed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NY\nGlam: Can you discuss any future projects or direction you are taking in regard\nto film making?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is very\nhard for me to not talk about projects I am very excited about. I have to go\nand make them come true and that is the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Exclusive interview with Abbas Nokhasteh – Film Producer Abbas Nokhasteh (Executive Producer) is a producer and founder of Openvizor arts organisation based in London, UK, Abbas has produced both documentary and fiction features which have premiered at Sundance, Rotterdam and Cannes, including Alejandro Jodorowsky\u2019s latest film Endless Poetry\u2019, \u2018Chuck Norris vs. Communism\u2019 and \u2018Ballad of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19259,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8604\/revisions\/19259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}