TEHRAN - A tripartite collaboration between finnish, iranian and afghan artists in the documentary Marzia, My friend.

In the wake of the gradual withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, the documentary "Marzia My Friend", directed by the Finnish Director and Screenwriter Kirsi Mattila, has recently drawn considerable attention in Farsi-speaking social networking sites and countries.
 Kirsi Mattila is a Finnish director, screenwriter, and a freelance journalist. She has been active in journalism since 1980 and earned her BA is Philosophy of Theatre and Theatre Studies in 1993. She has written and directed several educational movies and documentaries since 1994.
 As the security situation remains unclear in Afghanistan, a new wave of refugees is immigrating to Turkey illegally. Their exact number is still unknown, but it is argued that over the recent months, hundreds of Afghan nationals have unlawfully entered Turkey.

 Dealing with numerous hazards and walking for long hours, these Afghans finally set foot in Turkey. According to the UN figures, only in the first three months of 2021, approximately 20,000 civilians were exposed to violence and murder in Afghanistan.

 In addition to Afghanistan’s neighbours such as Iran and Pakistan, Turkey and European countries are among the main destinations for Afghan refugees. However, an illegal trip to Turkey is no easy task. Refugees need to trudge through plains and mountains for hours, but only a few of them manage to enter Turkey. Others are detained by the Turkish Border Patrol and deported back to Iran. They are not accepted by neither the Iranian Border Patrol nor by the Turkish Border Patrol. These refugees deported by Turkey wander between Iran and Turkey day after day.    
 
'Marzia, My Friend' is the story of an Afghan woman in her twenties, who like all young people dreams of love, freedom and an interesting job. She dreams of peace and independence, but because she lives in Afghanistan, her dreams are revolutionary. Ultimately Marzia’s story becomes a symbol of the wider struggle of Afghan women: it is about the right to make decisions about your own life. The film follows Marzia’s life from spring 2011 to the end of 2014, when international troops were due to leave Afghanistan. "Marzia My Friend" film has won several international awards.
 
In this film, Kirsi Mattila enlists the help of Artin Shahvaran, an Iranian singer and composer, as the film score composer. Artin Shahvaran is known for his albums including Mask, Maryam, and Ya To Ya Hich Kas, and thus far, he has composed the film scores for movies Night of Doubt (2003), Marzia My Friend (2015), and Bitter Chocolate (2019). He has performed in different artistic events in Turkey, Georgia, Iran, the UAE, Azerbaijan, and other countries.

Website: 
https://www.artinshahvaran.com/

Instagram Page:
https://www.instagram.com/artinshahvaran

IMDb: 
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12659151/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0