A TIMELY REMINDER OF THE PLIGHT OF REFUGEES
In Alireza Kazemipour's short film The Gold Teeth a dentist struggles to pull out the teeth of a dead Afghan man.
The teeth are being removed because the man has literally put his money where his mouth is and filled 11 teeth with gold. He did this not out of vanity but out of fear his money would be taken from him by the Taliban or others.
The dead man's refugee daughter Sahra (Parmiss Sehat) has convinced an Iranian dentist (Shayan Bayat) to mine the man's mouth. The family wants to send money back to Afghanistan to help the man's son, who is gay and targeted by the Taliban, flee the country.
“Many intellectuals, filmmakers, artists, sexual minorities were left unsupported and were forced to leave their country,” said Vancouver resident Kazemipour, who met an Afghan refugee on a ferry from Greece to Italy who had put his life savings into his mouth.
“This issue occupied my mind as I remembered the Afghan man I'd met, and I decided to merge the two stories together and wrote the script.”
The Gold Teeth is a timely reminder of the fear many refugees face, and the lengths they go to in a bid to break free of oppression and danger in their unstable, vulnerable homelands.
“I think it is important to reflect our times, so that I think The Gold Teeth does a very emotional job of showing the impact of the refugee crisis and wars in the world and of course it is even more relevant now with what is happening in Ukraine,” said Crazy8s' co-executive director and head of development Paul Armstrong.
Kazemipour is an Iranian Canadian screenwriter. He came to Canada in 2016 leaving behind a career that as a creator, writer, head-writer, or co-writer included 28 TV-series, more than 700 episodes, four features, and 14 teleplays.
Once here Kazemipour turned his focus to directing and has completed three indie shorts and one indie feature documentary. His work has been in festivals around the world and garnered numerous awards including a best director award for him at the 2020 Vancouver Short Film Festival.
“If this humble film could change even one person's view on the issue of dislocation and refugees, I would feel happy and accomplished,” said Kazemipour through email.
The film is one of the six shorts that will be screened at this year's Crazy8s Gala event on Saturday at The Centre for Performing Arts.
Crazy8s is a fast-filmmaking program that gives local directors $1,000 and eight days to make a short film of between four and 20 minutes. The six chosen to go to camera this year came out of a field of 150 films from all genres imaginable.
“I think pressure and the timeline adds to it. I think pressure squeezes out more creativity than usual because it is more condensed and intensified so I think sometimes that can result in better quality. A little more focused maybe because you're forced to be,” said Crazy8s' Paul Armstrong.
In the 23 years of Crazy8s, 127 films have come out of that molten pressure of making a movie in eight days. For Kazemipour, who is currently writing and working toward his goal of becoming a show runner and director here in Canada, the tight timeline is only survivable if those working on the film come loaded with one key ingredient.
“There is quote from Kim Ki-duk, the Korean director that is always inspired me. `Good movies are not made by money, they are made by passion,'” said Kazemipour.
“I experienced this in working with the Crazy 8s. When I saw 40 professional and enthusiastic people come to work without thinking about money and wages and do their best to make the film better. It was like a miracle and the best part of the work.
“The hardest part was the managing the time. Making a film in eight days is very tough.”
The five other films that will join The Gold Teeth at the Crazy8s Gala screening are:
IMRAN AND ALYKHAN
Director/writer: Shakil Jessa
The romance/coming of age story focuses on a pair of boys who fall in love at a Muslim winter ski retreat but must keep their relationship a secret.
CONSUMER
Director: Stephanie Izsak Writers: Izsak and Toby Marks
A 13-year-old girl consumed by today's toxic and devastating beauty standards, stumbles upon an unconventional and super gross way to lose weight in this dark comedy with a large serving of horror.
THE FARAWAY PLACE
Director/writer: Kenny Welsh
This horror/fantasy film follows a young woman and her father, both of whom have horns, as they evade a violent cult attempting to erase their kind from the world.
WEEDS ARE FLOWERS, TOO
Director/writer: Kay Shioma Metchie
In this dark comedy jealousy takes root as a woman lacking a green thumb is annoyed, OK mad, that her neighbour effortlessly brings green beauty to life.
UNDEVELOPED
Director: Derek MacDonald Writers: Derek MacDonald and Tyler Twiss
In this thriller an unhappy elderly photo lab operator one day receives a mysterious package that contains images from a past that could threaten his current comfortable life. He isn't happy about that, so he sets out to track down the person he believes is trying to blackmail him.