Film: INVISIBLE (2019) by Shirin Barghnavard
Poster design (c) Ali Bagheri
Shirin Barghnavard has just completed her new film INVISIBLE, which research, interviews and shooting she realized while on the Harun Farocki residency in Berlin.
Film synopsis:
The Berlin Wall is a metaphor for the concept of separation in this film. While seeing the remnants of the Berlin Wall today, surrounded by excited tourists, taking photographs, we hear the voices of several artists from different backgrounds who talk about their bitter personal experiences imposed on them due to their nationalities. These voices express their protest over the emphasis on the term “Nationality”, a very strong but hidden and invisible wall of today. They believe that stressing on the concept of nationality deepens the boundaries and separation between people, a separation similar to the one that the Berlin Wall created. (SB)
Director’s statement:
As an Iranian, I have always seen discrimination against Iranians who only have Iranian passport. During the research process of this film, I realized that many people from different parts of the world including Europe have the similar issue regarding their nationality. The film reflects the voice of some of these people.
We never decide where to be born. In fact, the context of “Nationality” is imposed on us and will remain attached to us forever, forming a kind of identity for us. But, how conscious we are about it and how we are influenced by it? What is the meaning of “Nationality”? What is its relation to the existence of human being? How it affects our life? What share does “Nationality” get from the history, religion, culture and traditions? What part of “Nationality” is objective and what part of it is subjective? What role does it play in identifying us as individuals and as a nation? Does “Nationality” differ between men and women?
Here, the concept of “Immigration”, as a movement in contrast with the context of “Nationality” can be born and examined too.
How does an immigrant deal with the concept of “Nationality”? How does an immigrant get another “Nationality”? Can anyone forget her/his previous “Nationality”? How does an immigrant consider her/his own “Nationality” in a foreign country?
There are walls around us that are invisible!
