Amir Motlagh is an actor, musician, filmmaker and storyteller. With a resume of over 15 films, his inspiration and zeal to make meaningful films that tell stories about human connection, is honest. When he saw the limited work he was getting offered in the entertainment industry, he decided to take matters in his own hands and start his journey as his own storyteller. He's currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Indigogo, looking for support from all film lovers. We had an opportunity to talk to him, and here are the excerpts.
· What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
A combination of things. First and foremost, my mother is a cinephile, and she absolutely adores the cinema and going to the movies as far as I can remember. It’s a passion of hers. She has quite a photogenic memory of movies she’s seen, along with names of actors, directors and anything related to film. This, of course, includes a love of foreign film, in the context of American dominant cinema.
Second, I trained as an actor, and at that time, I became fed up with the process of reading for certain types of roles, and also, I just was never that interested in the material that was available for me. The construction, the building of things was always more my interest, and so, I just gravitated towards things that I could structure myself. I’ve always been driven by the idea that It’s my responsibility to tell my own story, my own perspective on what the world is, and how the world works.
· What's the best thing you like about being a filmmaker?
My favorite thing about filmmaking is the power to craft your perspective about the world into a format that is a shared experience. Simply, it's our most advanced technology for communication in the arts at the moment. It probably won’t be in the nearing future, but for now, it's still our preeminent art. One the simple level, I love the collaborative process. There is not one single most important person in filmmaking. It’s a shared experience and this is what makes it unique.
· Talk to us about your latest projects.
I have two new feature films that I’m currently raising finishing funds on IndieGoGo. Principal photography and picture locked edits are in place for both films. One is called THREE WORLDS and the other is MAN. These are a bit difficult to talk about in a straight sense since the universe they exist in is very much enclosed within itself. Meaning, they are just not that easy to reference in relation to more mainstream films. These two films are part of a series of works called THREE MARKS, TOO MANY SIGNALS. This includes the two feature films, and a visual album I released in 2016 called CANYON.
THREE WORLDS is at the core, a drama that delves into a character's multiple perspectives in different points of space and time. Our main character is trying to find something, that perhaps he has lost at some point. The story is elliptical and takes place through a long span of time. It’s an experience-centric film, that unfolds itself to you without relying on usual tropes. This is how all three films in the THREE MARKS, TOO MANY SIGNALS series were built.
MAN is a semi-scripted, slice of life story told in a way that should feel both familiar, but very unusual. We explore a man’s relationship in the world that’s technology dominant. This is the more experimental of the three works.
· Which films and filmmakers inspire you, and why?
Modern filmmakers & studios whom I really enjoy include Jacques Audiard, who has done films like, THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, A PROPHET and RUST & BONE among others. Anything STUDIO GHIBLI puts out, and dramatist masters like Asghar Farhadi. I really enjoy Denis Villeneuve’s work on the strictly technical directing sense, and Jeff Nichols, who is as close to an American version of an Auteur as we can get in the modern era.
A bit of an odd mix, but, all present a cinema whose language is unique to their viewpoints about the world. This list would take forever though if I were to talk about the past as well, so, this is just stuff I’m joining currently, or that has held my attention for some time. Audiard is a mix of two of my favorite things about filmmaking. His compositions start genre based, but his work has flexibility and they grow out of their tropes, and I really like that. In terms of directors overall
What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in Hollywood?
Diversity is something that will naturally happen as both a demographic shift and the fact that it’s a majorly discussed issue. If the pressure holds, change happens. It’s whether the timeframe that this shift occurs is a right one for the individual who wants to be involved in the business. An equal responsibility is shared by groups gunning for this diversity. We have the tools, so we should all get to work.
· What is your message to other aspiring filmmakers & storytellers?
You simply have all the tools at your disposal. You have distribution at your fingertips. You have possible money available through crowdfunding. There will never be a better time to start than now, and there has never been a better time to start than now. The landscape is changing in incredible ways. New mediums are on the horizon like VR/AR and platforms like Youtube and Snapchat are creating stars out of people who want to share with the world.
Now, this might not necessarily look like the cinema of old, but the opportunity to tell stories is right at your fingertips. So, find your lane. If its Hollywood, that’s one way. But, there is many other ways to find your own lane nowadays. Test everything out and pivot. Don’t go to film school (for the most part). Make friends who are making movies. Build a team. Write. Shoot. Edit. Act. Have fun and keep doing. Write daily. Just do it. On the side, learn to code. You got a good escape plan. And still then, you can keep doing it.
Sounds like good advice. Thanks for talking to us Amir. And all the best!
Please visit the Indigogo page below to support Amir's upcoming projects
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/three-worlds-and-man-2-new-films-by-amir-motlagh-losangeles-drama#/