where we used to swim
Synopsis
The dried tears of Lake Urmia in northern Iran are for sale – salt in plastic bags at the roadside. Once the biggest lake in the Middle East, only a fraction of it is left today. This is its elegy, presenting both its former splendour and its state today. Wavering between factuality and melancholy, the film finally opts for a pessimistic view of society. The dying lake becomes a symbol. (DOK Leipzig, Carolin Weidner)Jury Statement Innsbruck Nature FF:
“A love poem, a love song to a place that disappeared – once one of the biggest lakes in the Middle East, vanished and turned almost complete into a salt desert – lake Urmia. This poetic essay embarks from the former crowded shores back in the time, when there still was water, and leads us to recent images of the scenery. The young filmmaker Daniel Asadi Faezi visualizes the mourning by arranging playful but gently the images and brings Urmia for a glimpse of the moment back to life but let us its loss resonates long after.”
Festivals/Awards
Seal of Approval ‘highly recommended’Sustainability Award – 26. Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg
Honorable Mention – 19. Innsbruck Nature Film Festival
part of german films NEXT GENERATION selection which premiered at Festival de Cannes 2020
2019
62 DOK Leipzig, Germany
13 KFFK Cologne, Germany
39.Munich Filmschool Fest, Germany
2020
26 Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg, Germany
12 GO SHORT – ISFF Nijmegen, Netherlands
17 Vienna Shorts, Austria
35 DOK.fest Munich, Germany
13 Leiden Shorts, Netherlands
21 KUK Kurzfilmtage Schweinfurt, Germany
40 Odense Shortfilm Festival, Denmark
9 Kyiv International Shortfilm Festival, Ukraine
26 Film Festival della Lessinia, Italy
49 Sehsüchte Berlin, Germany
36Kurzfilmfestival Hamburg, Germany
20 Festival de Cine Alemán Buenos Aires, Argentina
3 Cinemafest Orvieto, Italy
14 German Currents Film Festival L.A., USA
41 Festival du Film court de Villeurbanne, Lyon, France
36. Warsaw International Film Festival, Poland
25 Festival du Cinéma Allemand, Paris, France
16 International Filmfestival Sedicicorto, Italy
13 Imagine Science Film Festival New York, USA
19 International Innsbruck Nature Filmfestival, Austria
20 Escales Documentaires, La Rochelle, France
36 International Shortfilm Festival Berlin, Germany
24 PÖFF Black Nights Tallinn, Estonia
6 Festival Cinéma Jeune Public Lausanne, Switzerland
37 Festival International du Film de Montagne d’Autrans, France
21 Izmir Shortfilm Festival, Turkey
This Human World, Vienna
Cast and Crew
- Director Daniel Asadi Faezi
- Producer Daniel Asadi Faezi
- Editor Narges Kalhor
- Sound Andrew Mottl, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Co-Production Company
HFF München (Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film)Germany
www.hff-muenchen.de
Links / Reference
Daniel Asadi Faezi
contact@asadifaezi.com
asadifaezi.com
asadifaezi.com/where-we-used-t...
TRAILER
vimeo.com/363153105
VoD
dafilms.com/film/16706-where-w...