Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Arta Barzanji: The article is, for the most part, a close reading of Saless’s Still Life, generally considered to be one of his two masterpieces. It’s also an effort to give context on Saless and introduce him through one of his seminal works, while addressing the deficiencies of what has been written about him and this film so far.
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
AB: The research mostly consists of the critical literature written about Saless, in Farsi and English.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
AB: The research was strictly a passion project of mine, and not required or even really supported by my department.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
AB: While our department didn’t have any specific guidelines for research, and while there were no professors with any expertise in my subject of research, Professor Anderson personally offered to help me as much as he could, even though this was not in his area of expertise.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
AB: It’s given me a specific goal to work toward.
FM: What audience do you hope to reach with your Film Matters article and/or what impact do you hope it has on the field of film studies?
AB: I hope Saless will get more attention from film scholars from here on.
FM: What are your future plans?
AB: To continue this research in grad school.
Author Biography
Arta Barzanji is a full-time cinephile and occasional filmmaker, critic, researcher, and translator. His current research focuses on the cinema of the Iranian filmmaker, Sohrab Shahid Saless. His translations include texts on Straub-Huillet to Farsi, and his writing consists of pieces on Shanghai Express for Filmkhaneh, on Satantango for Photogenie, as well as forthcoming pieces on Pedro Costa and Barabra Loden’s Wanda.
