VIFF 2014 BC Spotlight: 5 Questions with Soran Mardookhi

The 33rd annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will once again be screening a collection of exceptional feature films produced in British Columbia (see the full list of BC Spotlight films). This week on our blog, we’ve invited some of the BC filmmakers coming to VIFF to answer a few short questions about their film.

Today we have writer-director Soran Mardookhi, who in his film Turbulence brings us a moving story of a newly-immigrated Iraqi Kurdish man who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Directed and produced in Vancouver, the film examines the difficulties of  moving to new country and adapting to a different culture.

5 Questions with the Director:

VIFF: What inspired you to make this film?
Mardookhi: I grew up in a Kurdish border town in Iran during the war years, and I have always wanted to explore the effect of war and genocide on the human experience. Also, as a newcomer to Canada, I find the immigrant experience fascinating and worthy of exploration in cinematic form.

VIFF: What was the biggest challenge you faced while making the film?
Mardookhi: Lack of Canadian film industry experience was a major roadblock in our efforts to secure funding for the film. Lack of financial resources created a lot of limitations as well as stress for me in the filmmaking process.

VIFF: What’s the main message you want people to take away from your film?
Mardookhi: I’d rather not answer this question because I don’t want the audience to walk into the movie theatre with a preconceived notion of what they will take away from the film.

VIFF: Who is the filmmaker that inspires you the most?
Mardookhi: Abbas Kiarostami, a well-known Iranian filmmaker. I have always been inspired by his films and filmmaking style, and I have also had the opportunity to attend his filmmaking workshops.

VIFF: What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers in BC?
Mardookhi: To never give up and believe in themselves and their abilities, despite the challenges of filmmaking.

Check out the trailer for Turbulence here:

VIFF Passes and Ticket Packages are now available online. Full program schedule (including individual ticket sales) are available here.