“The great yawn of history”, interview with director Alyar Rasti

February 27, 2024

Alyar Rasti: “it all started with a dialogue between two men talking about a miracle”

“The great yawn of history”, interview with director Alyar Rasti Chiara Nicoletti

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“The great yawn of history“, Aliyar Rasti’s debut feature film, was born from an idea the Iranian director got from a fever dream he had. The film is in the Encounters competitive section at the 74th Berlinale and it’s script comes from a dialogue between two men talking about a miracle.

This is the story of two men of different beliefs, going on a journey to find a box of gold coins at the end of a cave .

Through his two characters, Aliyar Rasti explores two visions of the world, the religious and mystic one and the non-believer’s to try and understand what miracles really mean.

The director confesses that he based his “believer” character on his own father, the one “who taught him to not only believe in dreams but to make them come true”

Plot

A religious man dreams of a box of gold coins at the end of a cave. As he does not consider them Halal (permissible according to Islamic law) for him- self, he finds an assistant with no beliefs and together, they set out on a jour- ney to discover the cave.

Written by: Chiara Nicoletti

Guest

Alyar Rasti

Film

The great yawn of history

Festival

Berlinale

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