Motherland wins Best Canadian Short @TIFF2023

When FERNTV interviewed director Jasmin Mozzafari back in 2018 for the film Firecrackers, we knew that she was determined to tell her story. Mozzafari came back to TIFF this year with a short film called Motherland and won the Best Canadian Short. The film focuses on Babak, played by Behtash Fazlali and is set back in 1979 during the Iranian hostage crisis. The film is reflective of Mozzafari’s father who was an Iranian immigrant and had to overcome obstacles when he was making Canada his new home. Motherland is a testament to the resilience of Iranians during difficult times.

Babak is set to go on a road trip with her fiancé Katie who Oriana Leman plays. This is an interracial relationship which back in this era was seen as taboo. The manner in which the US media portrays the difficulties and the wars in the Middle East was a significant factor in how Iranian immigrants were treated and bullied in the US. Still to this day, especially after 9/11 the profiling of Iranians and people from the Middle East continues. So having a Caucasian American wife for Babak is more than taboo but looked down upon during those times.

The Standoff

Babak finally meets Diane’s father Werner who is played by John Ralston and their standoff is compelling let alone political. One man is trying to achieve his dreams by marrying his love. The other one is sustaining his dreams by making sure his daughter does not make a huge mistake. But you can see from this tough introduction that there will never be a template to follow to lead up to this tough conversation. Especially when it comes to interracial relationships. It is common now to have that conversation but it still remains difficult. The old-school mentality of sticking to your own race was intact during this era. Without a doubt, in the deep pockets of the United States.

Director Jasmin Mozzafari wastes no time in setting the stage for this confrontation between Babak and the father. Motherland gets right to the point and the audience feels a sense of urgency from Mozzafari’s direction. The film comments on how much work still needs to be done when it comes to interracial relations. Especially against a backdrop where the media does not favour your own Motherland.

Father and Daughter

There is also an underlying layer that Mozzafari focuses on in this film and that is the relationship between a father and his daughter. You can see how Werner will always stick to his old-school mentality and not give an inch. But it also strict and stranglehold tactics fathers use to raise and protect their daughters that are still used today. This will always be an ongoing struggle between father and daughter. But you can sense Mozzafari’s own struggle with her father in his journey to achieve his dreams and the emotions and hardship that came out of it. To remain resilient and disciplined by all means necessary was required which has made Mozzafari the highly touted filmmaker that she is today.

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