Hoda Taheri, born in Tehran, Iran in 1992, is an Iranian Refugee Artist and Filmmaker based in Berlin, Germany. In 2016, she received her bachelor’s degree in visual communication from Limkokwing University in Malaysia. Her short film MOTHER PRAYS ALL DAY LONG was nominated for the German Short Film Award.
The follow up short AS IF MOTHER CRIED THAT NIGHT was picked by guest curator Laurence Boyce for our 2023 Lighthouse Selections. We caught up with the filmmaker for a quick-fire interview.
Hi Hoda, what did it feel like to find out your film had made the T-Port Lighthouse Selections? How did you react?
It was a great pleasure for me and made me very happy.
What does making the selection mean to you and your journey as a filmmaker?
It means a lot to my journey because it can give more visibility to my work.
What was the inspiration behind your film?
It was a mix of personal and political story at the same time.
How was the filmmaking process for you? Can you tell us about how you went about the production process?
I tried to keep everything simple and work with a small team.
Having been through the process of making your short – what do you wish you had known in advance?
I wish I had known how vital strong communication is.
What were the biggest challenges you encountered during making your film? What did you learn from them?
I think the most important thing is to keep calm and not to panic in stressful situations.
What did you find (or still find) as especially lacking in the process of distributing and promoting your film? What was especially challenging?
Not having a sales agent or distributor company was the biggest lack in promoting my film.
What do feel young film talents lack the most today, after graduating from film school? Where are the gaps in the film industry?
Learning how to access the fundings suitable for themselves and generally the lack of knowledge about the complicated European funding system.
What’s next?
Hopefully a new film soon.
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