Bekas received a standing ovation in Stockholm where you won a Special Mention from a jury headed by Peter Fonda. How does that feel for you-the young man who- just like the boys Zana and Dana in the film -fled war-torn Iraq with stories larger than life in your head?
Karzan Zader: It was fabulous in Stockholm. It was the first time I saw the film with an audience. I was in the back of the cinema filled with 800 people. It was amazing to see their response; they were laughing and remained quiet in the right places. The director of the festival told me that Bekas was one of the audience's favourite. It was wonderful to hear. Awards, good reviews are a bonus for me. What I want most is to touch the audience.
Plus it was great that the film was launched in Stockholm. I studied at Stockholm's Dramatiska Institutet. I would take the underground and see posters of films by major directors. I thought one day I will have my film there. So in that way my dream has come true.
When did Sonet Film come on board, when you won the Nordic Talents award in 2010?
KK: We had a screening in Stockholm for professionals to watch our graduation films from Dramatiska Institutet and Sandra Harms was there. We had a brief talk. She wanted to know my plans. I said I wanted to make my short film Bekas as a feature length film. Sonet told me to send them a script. Two weeks later I contacted them and we did a deal. I said "let's do it now because the boys are growing up."
Then I went to Nordic Talents where I received the main award. A lot of things happened afterwards thanks to Nordic Talents. It made things easier to finance the film and it also gave me confidence as a director on the vision I had for the film.
It was risky to go back to your home village of Sulaimani in the Northern part of Iraq when the political situation was very unstable...
KK: I had done all the prep work there for a couple of months and we were just two days away from shooting when a demonstration and chaos started from nowhere. I was in the middle with my location manager and I saw six people get shot. It was horrible. The situation escalated to the point where we said: "we can't expose our team especially with kids in the cast." We pressed pause and came back to Sweden. I waited almost five months before we could go back and start over again in a different city. In retrospect, it was the right decision. Had we continued the shooting, we wouldn't have had a film as the demonstrations went on for weeks.
How did you actually find the two young boys in the lead and how was the experience of working with all non-professional actors?
The younger boy Zana was found in an orphanage. He saw me, with my European clothes. He ran to me, taking things out of my pocket, took my camera, taking pictures of his friends. He was so happy. I loved his energy. With Dana, [who plays the elder brother] it was harder. I looked a long time in different schools, orphanages, in the bazaar. For me it was important not to find two boys who would be good with the camera, but boys who would be like me and my elder brother. Then the day before shooting, I was at a school and the teacher said a kid was sick at home but was going to come to the school to pick up his books. I saw Dana and immediately my world was shaken. He was exactly like my brother.
Filming with non-professionals was hard work. They were all looking at the camera, going in the wrong direction. They couldn't tell their lines properly, and we had to do the takes several times. It was crazy to have the lead actor the day before shooting, especially a child with no experience. But that's also the beauty of film.
You told me in a previous interview that your grandfather who was a great storyteller is the one who inspired you to tell your own story and become a writer/director. Did you think of him when filming the wise old blind man who is like a father figure to Zana?
Yes, he even has the same name. My grandfather loved listening to the radio as we didn't have TV in those days. I created a whole radio shop for my character thinking of how my grandfather loved radios. Everything was very honest.
What views do you have on the Spring Revolution in the Arab world?
That's very important. It's almost what my film is about. Arab leaders have been taking everything from the people. They had to rise and stand up to follow their dreams, the way Zana and Dana dream of a better life. Even if I had to cancel my shooting because of the people's protests in Northern Iraq, I respected their claims. Their struggle had to end.
What's next?
I'm writing my second script, I have an agent and getting other scripts, even from Hollywood. I'm happy and want to enjoy the release of Bekas in Sweden. Now I can breathe. I've made the film I wanted.