“Empty Nets”, interview with the director Behrooz Karamizade

July 21, 2023

Behrooz Karamizade, Director of Empty Nets: " It was very important to make a film about Iran and to give something back to my people. So I did it"

"Empty Nets", interview with the director Behrooz Karamizade Angelo Acerbi

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Empty Nets conveys to the audience the enthusiasm of the director Behrooz Karamizade , and his love for Iran, reasons for the great appreciation (a very long standing ovation ) the film received at his official screening.

Those same feelings are perfectly present in this talk we had with him, after his Special Jury Prize in Karlovy Vary. Behrooz tells his motivations, his drive to the story and he talks about the need of film like this in his country, to give the young Iranians an additional voice in the world.

Plot of Empty Nets: Amir and Narges, two people in love, who might be described as having been born under an unlucky star. The young man is from a poor family background and, after he is laid off from his job as a waiter, he is forced to find work in a fishing community. Narges has a higher social status and comes from a “good family”. For the time being, they are keeping their relationship a secret. In order for them to marry, Amir has to earn enough money for a dowry. To add to his problems, he discovers that the fishery employing him is also involved in dishonest business practices. Behrooz Karamizade’s feature debut is a realistic drama set in contemporary Iran which eschews embellishment in order to depict a struggle for the right to love, an entitlement that shouldn’t be contingent on money.