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Mon pire ennemi

My Worst Enemy
Encounters 2023
© l’Atelier Documentaire
Mojtaba, Amzeh and Zar are refugees who have all endured prison and ideological interrogation in Iran. Filmmaker Mehran Tamadon – who lives in France – inquires if one of them would be willing to take part in an experiment in which he or she is interrogated by someone playing the role of an agent of the Islamic Republic. An internationally renowned actor in exile accepts the challenge.
Tamadon has long shown a keen interest in understanding “the other side” – a side diametrically opposed to his own humanist values. He is motivated by the hope – which even he sometimes perceives as naïve – that by establishing a relationship he will be able to break down the ideological wall which surrounds his interlocutors. Since his passport was confiscated following his film Iranian (Forum, 2014), this means that he can only question the regime in his homeland from afar. This enforced distance provides the starting point for an unusual role play in which his interrogator raises questions about the filmmaker’s own motivations and goals. The project’s very limitations soon become one of the main topics at the heart of this fascinating and unsettling film.
by Mehran Tamadon
with Zar Amir Ebrahimi France / Switzerland 2023 Farsi 82’ Colour Documentary Form

With

  • Zar Amir Ebrahimi

Crew

Director Mehran Tamadon
Screenplay Mehran Tamadon
Cinematography Patrick Tresch
Editing Mehran Tamadon, Luc Forveille
Sound Design Simon Gendrot, Philippe Grivel
Sound Laurent Malan
Producer Raphaël Pillosio
Executive Producer Raphaël Pillosio
Co-Producer Elena Tatti
Co-Production Box productions Lausanne

World sales

Andana Films

http://www.andanafilms.com/ http://www.andanafilms.com/

Produced by

L'atelier documentaire

https://www.atelier-documentaire.fr https://www.atelier-documentaire.fr

Photos

Mehran Tamadon

© Pershang Shafigh

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1972, he first studied architecture in Paris before turning to filmmaking. He directed his first documentary, Behesht zahra, in 2004. In 2010, he made Bassidji in which he documented his attempts to enter into a dialogue with the Basij militia whose members have dedicated their lives to defending the Iranian regime. The same principle was applied in his film Iranien which screened in the Berlinale Forum in 2014.

Filmography

2004 Behesht zahra (Mothers of Martyrs); short documentary 2009 Bassidji; documentary 2014 Iranien; documentary 2023 Jaii keh khoda nist (Where God Is Not); documentary · Mon pire ennemi (My Worst Enemy); documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023