人心之间 有路相通——“中国电影周”展映德黑兰

文、图/张驰Zhang Chi 译曹宇光Cao Yuguang

“波斯谚语道：人心之间，有路相通。这其中一条路，就是文化交流之路。”当地时间9月18日下午，中国驻伊朗伊斯兰共和国大使庞森在“中国文化节——中国电影周”开幕式的致辞中如是说。伊朗电影是这个古老而又神秘的国度奉献给全世界的礼物，《小鞋子》《樱桃的滋味》《一次别离》《推销员》等伊朗电影不仅在全世界各大电影节斩获殊荣，更是俘虏了无数中国观众的心，那中国电影在伊朗观众中又会是怎样的印象呢，两大文明古国的现代名片在当下又将碰撞出怎样的火花？

9月18日，德黑兰当代艺术馆人头攒动，伊朗电影业内人士和热爱电影的伊朗观众迎来了“中国文化节——中国电影周”的开幕，《狼图腾》《孔子》《一代宗师》《智取威虎山》《钢的琴》《山楂树之恋》6部中国影片在这里陆续展映，在伊朗观众中开启了一轮“中国电影热”。伊朗国家文化指导部影视中心主任莫兰诺佐泽对中国电影周的举办表示欢迎，他说：“中国电影业近年来取得快速发展，中国电影发展的模式有很多的良好经验值得伊朗借鉴，我们希望在电影文化方面与中国合作，也希望今天举办的中国文化节及中国电影周可以成为两国加强合作的新的开始，翻开新的篇章。”

为了促成此次在伊朗首都德黑兰举行“中国电影周”放映活动，中国驻伊朗大使馆费了好几个月的时间反复沟通、协调、洽谈，最终才得以顺利实施，展映的影片也经过了反复比较和筛选。开幕影片《狼图腾》中有很多我们今天习以为常的镜头，但在伊朗绝对是禁忌，因此做了技术性处理。影片获得了热烈的反响，主演巴森扎布和制片人王为民的出现让现场一片沸腾，伊朗电影界人士和影迷对《狼图腾》中所表现出的中国哲学智慧深深着迷，对影片中“人狼大战”场景叹为观止，众多伊朗观众将制片人王为民团团围住，久久不肯离去。

正如中国文联副主席李前光在开幕式致辞中说的：“丝绸之路是属于中国的，也是属于伊朗的，更是属于全世界、全人类的，让我们共同努力，为两国电影工作者之间的合作交流创造新时代的辉煌。”就在开幕式举行之前的非正式会面上，双方官员和电影界代表就两国电影合拍与交流进行了第一次交流。

中伊两国专家交流座谈Seminar of Chinese and Iranian Experts

当地时间9月19日上午举办的“新丝绸之路中伊电影研讨会”上，来自两个亚洲电影大国的官员、专家学者、导演和制片人济济一堂，为打开中伊两国电影合作之路展开了热烈讨论。中国驻伊朗大使馆文化参赞尹海刚开场便说:“电影是了解一个国家国情的重要窗口，近年来，中伊两国在电影方面都取得了令人瞩目的成就，在中国人看来，伊朗电影贴近生活，人物刻画细腻，通过简单的故事反映伊朗人民乐观积极向上的精神；而中国的电影创作水平不断提高，技术不断与国际接轨，市场运作日益成熟，电影票房屡创新高，中伊两国在电影方面各有所长，这为我们将来的合作奠定了良好的基础；中伊两国关系的快速健康发展，也为我们开展合作提供了机遇。”中国电影代表团团长、中国影协秘书长饶曙光以《中国电影发展与世界电影新格局》为题发言，他认为：“一带一路”理念下的中国电影发展必须时时恪守“实现全球化再平衡”和“开创地区新型合作”的总体构想，在实现中国电影拥有更高的文化包容度和在世界上的被认知度的同时，推动沿线国家电影的可持续繁荣和发展，改变好莱坞电影在全球化背景下一枝独秀的传统格局，构建“人类命运共同体”大格局下世界电影文化多样化、多元化、多向度传播和良性互动的新格局。中国电影和伊朗电影都有其自身的文化传统、美学传统，具有差异性和互补性，因此也具有广阔的合作空间，两国电影机构和电影人应该携起手来，推动两国电影合作拍摄走向良性互动、共赢乃至多赢。

伊朗电影同行纷纷表达了与中国合作的迫切愿望，几乎每一位嘉宾的发言都直入主题，从故事片、儿童片、纪录片和电影人才互补等方面提出了自己的建议与构想。电影《致命逃脱》《小游戏》的导演兼制片人马苏里谈到合作模式的可能性时说：“为什么伊朗电影对中国观众有吸引力? 因为伊朗电影擅长用最简陋的设备，讲最简单的故事，表现一个非常宏大的主题，这在全世界电影中都是独特的，‘最少即是最多’。中伊双方的合作不是各出一部分钱来拍一部电影，中国电影首先要找到自己缺少的东西，再找准伊朗电影之所长，各取所长。”王为民的回应非常直白：“其实中国观众和电影同行对伊朗电影已经有了非常高的认可，我们希望中国影协和伊朗电影官方能够促进两国合作拍摄一些有意思的电影，如果未来在中国片场看到伊朗电影人参与制作，或者在伊朗片场看到中国电影人的身影，才是此次研讨会达到的真正目的。”

正如饶曙光所说：“我们深切感受到伊朗电影人想要进一步了解当下中国电影发展的心情，特别是在推进中伊两国电影合拍方面，期待有实实在在的项目落地。众所周知，古代波斯文明源远流长，伊朗是‘一带一路’沿线重要的国家，在‘一带一路’战略背景下，中国的大门无疑是敞开的。由于众所周知的原因，电影合拍要在伊朗落地，还有很多极其复杂艰难的工作需要一点点消化，真的是‘心急吃不了热豆腐’。中国电影人敬佩伊朗电影人能够用最小的资金、最简陋的设备拍摄出最动人的电影。我们建议下次再来伊朗的时候，双方各自准备一些具体的项目来讨论，达成真正实质意义上的合作。中国电影市场的容量很大、发展很快，机会很多，我相信在‘一带一路’战略合作的基础上，一定有很多的机遇。”尹海刚建议，充分利用电影节等各类活动展映两国电影作品；同时建立一个机制来延续沟通与合作，建议通过伊中友好协会、亚洲文化中心作为联络点，伊方的建议可以通过他们向中国影协转达，中国驻伊朗使馆也愿意发挥桥梁作用。

访问期间，中国电影代表团团员们曾笑谈：伊朗电影拿奥斯卡最佳外语片奖就跟玩似的，特别是儿童电影，绝对是世界级顶尖水平；但殊不知，伊朗在很大程度上只能拍摄儿童电影，因此最好的电影人都在拍儿童片。不少中国导演常常把拍不出好电影归咎于审查制度，想想伊朗电影的创作和生产环境，我们恐怕还是要更多地反思自己。交流中的趣事不断——中国驻伊朗大使夫人是舞蹈专业出身，特别想促成在伊朗举办一场舞蹈演出，但这却成了一个不可能完成的任务：伊朗女性除了手和脸部之外不能暴露身体的任何其他部位，更何况要男女同台跳舞更是天方夜谭，因为异性之间互相握手都是不允许的。也许正因为如此，中国的武侠动作电影格外受到追捧，中国驻伊朗使馆告知代表团：电影《一代宗师》放映当天，规模不大的德黑兰当代艺术馆人山人海，当地的媒体都震惊了。

9月16日到21日，中国电影代表团访伊的短短几天，充分感受到伊朗人民对于中国人民和中国文化的热爱，以及他们“电影即是生活”的气质与情怀。无论是在德黑兰当代艺术馆举行的“中国电影周”展映活动，还是在伊朗电影博物馆访问交流，处处见到的是热情友好的笑脸，总是遇到主动握手并要求合影的普通市民，有自告奋勇为我们讲解伊朗电影的文艺青年，还有在街头不期而遇并成为朋友的电影拍摄剧组。就像伊朗电影永远在细腻表现当下的生活，撩开面纱的伊朗真实而美好，中伊电影文化交流与合作的未来令人期待。

伊朗国家电影博物馆一景Scene of National Film Archive of Iran

“As a Persian saying goes, there are always paths of communication between the two hearts. Cultural exchange is just one of them.” PANG Sen, Chinese Ambassador to Iran, quoted in his speech at the opening ceremony of Chinese Film Week, as part of Chinese Cultural Festival in Iran on the afternoon of September 18. Film is a gift that such an ancient and mysterious country as Iran dedicates to the entire world.Many Iranian films such as Children of Heaven, Taste of Cherry,A Separation and The Salesman have won awards in varied film festivals worldwide and received hearty appreciation from numerous Chinese audiences. Then what is the impression of Chinese films in Iranian audiences’ mind? What kind of interaction might take place in the film—the modern business card of the two ancient civilizations?

On the afternoon of September 18, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts was filled to its capacity as professional film makers and amateurs in Iran came to welcome the opening of Chinese Film Week where six Chinese films, namely Wolf Totem,Confucius, Grandmaster, Taking of Tiger Mountain, Piano in a Factory and Under the Hawthorn Tree, were shown consecutively and aroused a fashion among Iranian audiences. Majid Mollanoroozi, director of Iran Visual Art Center of Iran Ministry of Culture & Islamic Guidance, extended his welcome towards the Chinese Film Week. “In recent years, Chinese film industry has gained rapid development. Plenty of sound experience with the development mode of Chinese film may serve as reference for Iranian counterparts. We expect that our cooperation with China in film may be realized in the future and that the Chinese Film Week today becomes a new chapter and a good beginning of strengthened cooperation between China and Iran.” he said.

As a pleasure talk among Chinese film delegation in private, the possibility of a film week in China may probably be realized through a simple meeting over quite a short period of time. However, in order to make this Chinese Film Week happen in Tehran, capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chinese Embassy in Iran spent a couple of months in constant communication, negotiation and coordination before it was successfully realized . The final list of the films to be shown was decided after several rounds of comparison and selection. As some shots, in the opening film Wolf Totem though quite ordinary in Chinese people’s eyes, are forbidden scenes in the custom of Iran. Technical processing that happened in the 1980s in China were immediately made to ensure the opening show. The opening show turned out to be a success with a passionate feedback, testified by audiences’ excitement at the sight of the leading actor Basen Zhabu and the producer Wang Weimin after the show. Acclaiming the magnificent part of “War of Human and Wolf” and fascinated with the wisdom in Chinese philosophy, film makers and amateur film lovers in Iran came to surround Wang Weimin, reluctant to leave for quite a long time.

As was stressed in the opening speech by LI Qianguang, vice president of CFLAC, “The Silk Road belongs to both China and Iran It also belongs to the entire world and humankind. We must make joint efforts to create the brilliance of cooperation and exchange among film makers of the two countries in this new age”. It was at the unofficial meeting prior to the opening ceremony that film officials and representatives from the two countries conducted the first talk concerning co-production and exchange.

On the morning of September 19, the New Silk Road China-Iran Film Seminar was held where officials, experts, directors and producers from the two giants in Asian films gathered and discussed enthusiastically how to make film cooperation between China and Iran possible. As the first speaker from Chinese side,YIN Haigang, cultural counselor of Chinese Embassy in Iran, said,“film is a key window to learn about a country. In recent years,China and Iran have gained outstanding achievement in film. In the eyes of Chinese people, Iranian films tend to draw inspirations from vivid life, provide a subtle profile of figures and reflect the optimism of Iranian people via simple stories. As to Chinese films,their-creativity level is constantly upgraded, technology integrated in line with the international standard, marketing operation matured and box office multiplied. The respective advantages in films of China and Iran have laid a perfect foundation for our future cooperation and the rapid yet sound bilateral relationship provides opportunities for cooperation as well”. RAO Shuguang,head of Chinese film delegation and secretary general of China Film Association, delivered a keynote speech titled Chinese Film Development and New Structure of World Film. As he held, under the “B&R” Initiative, the development of Chinese film must always adhere to the general ideals of “rebalance of globalization” and“creating new pattern of regional cooperation”. While realizing a higher cultural inclusiveness and global recognition of Chinese film,it is necessary to promote the sustainable prosperity of films in the B&R countries, crack down the traditional monopoly of Hollywood film in the context of old globalization, and construct a new structure of diversity, multi-elements, multi-dimensions and sound interaction in world films within the framework of “the community with shared future for mankind”. Blessed with their own traditions both in culture and in aesthetics, films of China and Iran have differences both in contrast and in complementarity for spacious cooperation. Film makers and agencies of China and Iran ought to promote the co-production hand in hand with sound interaction and win-win outcome.

Iranian counterparts were so eager to express their urgent will for cooperation with China that almost every speaker came to the point straight and put forward their own suggestion and idea in the respects of feature film, children’s film, documentary and film talents complementation. When talking about the possibility of cooperation mode, Tooraj Mansoori, director and producer of the films Deadly Escape and Little Game uttered, “the attraction of Iranian films to Chinese audiences lies in our capability to tell the simplest story in reflection of an extremely big issue with the humblest equipment, which is unique in the world film circle. As for co-production between China and Iran, it is anything but a joint venture with respective investment. Chinese film makers must find what they lack and what Iranian counterpart is good at so that the co-production can take both advantages to overcome each other’s shortcoming”. In response, WANG Weimin gave a frank reply, “as a matter of fact, Chinese audiences and film makers have a high recognition of Iranian film and we hope that China Film Association and official administration of film in Iran can promote some interesting co-productions. If we can witness some Iranian filmmakers in China or vice versa, the purpose of this seminar will have been fulfilled”.

《樱桃的滋味》获得1997年第50届戛纳电影节金棕榈大奖The Film Taste of Cherry Won Palm d’Or Prize at the 50th Cannes Film Festival in 1997

在德黑兰，中国电影代表团偶遇电影摄制组，与伊朗同行相谈甚欢Happy Talk between CFA Delegation and Iranian Production Unit in an Encounter in Tehran

RAO Shuguang replied, “we have deep sympathy for Iranian counterparts’ eagerness to learn more about the current development of Chinese films, especially some concrete coproduction projects. As is known to all, the ancient Persian civilization is one of the four civilizations in the world and Iran is a key country in the “B&R” Initiative. In the strategic background of this initiative, China will keep its gate always open to the rest of the world. In the light of current differences between China and Iran, there is much more complicated process to go through before making co-production happen in Iran. Haste makes waste, and some patience is still needed. We really admire our counterparts in Iran, who are capable of making the most touching films out of the minimum funding and the simplest equipment.We suggest that both sides prepare some detailed proposals for discussion the next time we visit Iran so as to realize a genuine cooperation. As Chinese film market is of gigantic capacity, rapid development and many opportunities, we firmly believe that the“B&R” Initiative will bring about changes in the reality”. As YIN Haigang suggest, various events such as film festivals should be fully utilized to showcase films of China and Iran. In the meanwhile,a mechanism should be established for continuous communication and cooperation. Iran-China Friendship Association and Asian Culture Center are recommended as the connecting points where suggestions from Iranian side will be conveyed to China Film Association. Chinese Embassy in Iran is also willing to function as a bridge in between.

During the visit, we once mentioned that the Best Foreign Film Award of Oscar seemed to be a piece of cake for Iranian filmmakers to take in, as especially their children’s films always keep at the top level around the world. Nevertheless, in most degrees, only children’s films are fully allowed in Iran and thus those best filmmakers are invariably shooting children’s films.In China, some directors blamed the censorship for their poor production, but compared with the actual environment for creation and production of Iranian film, they shall probably reflect more on themselves. There was an interesting dilemma in our exchange. As the wife of Chinese ambassador to Iran used to be a professional dancer, she particularly wished to stage a dance performance in Iran. However, Iranian women are forbidden to show any part of their bodies except hands and faces, or shake hands with the opposite sex. Those dances with men and women on the same stage thus become a mission impossible. In this sense, Chinese Kungfu action films received great popularity. As Chinese Embassy in Iran told us, on the show day of the film The Grandmaster, there were so many crowds inside and outside the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts that the local media was greatly amazed.

Within a short visit from September 16 till 21, Chinese film delegation fully experienced Iranian people’s love of Chinese people and culture as well as their disposition of “Film is Life”.Whether in the Chinese Film Week events in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, or in the exchange visit to Film Archive of Iran, we invariably met with ordinary citizens who offered friendly smiles, hand-shakes and group photos. Literary youngsters volunteered to explain about Iranian film and film shooting cast in the street. Just like the delicate and smooth life in Iranian film,the unveiled Iran is so true and beautiful. The future of exchange and cooperation in films of China and Iran is well worthy of expectation.