The Weavers
Excerpts from our book
Zinat Alizadeh Garmabi named her piece “Khaterat e Madaram”. Memories of My Mother.
“Weaving blessed her life, she told me, but it also took away from it. It took away time with her children, it took away her youth and her health. However, she was content. She never had to ask for a handout. She never had to lose face. She was able to support her family. While her loom gave her serenity at times and took on the burden of her sad stories and sorrows she still had no more to give it. She had given enough of herself to this somber act.”
Bojnurd Northern Khorasan Province, Iran
Soraya Zahedianejad named her piece “Jedal Bibi Jaan Ba Sarnevesht”. Bibi Jaan’s Battle with Fate.
“ ‘We’re all created by one God,’ she told me. She felt that regardless of culture, background, or place in this universe were all just human beings. Others hearing this story, in other parts of the world, will connect and feel the pain of Bibi. They will hear it, see it, read it and feel the injustice and then the power that her Grandmother had. To go through such a life and still leave it happy, satisfied, surrounded by color and light. There was immense weight in those memories being retold.”
Nohtan Village Gheer District, Fars Province, Iran
Soraya Moradianpour named her piece “Raz e Ashekar”. A Secret Revealed.
“Soraya’s big, happy, dark eyes along with the upturned corners of her mouth, in a perpetual smile, still gave me a sense of calm. Behind that resolute and happy demeanor lay years of heartbreak, which now I was privy to. Maybe she could be absolved of the pain and the memories since she shared her secret. Woven into a bright red kilim, adorned with symbols to watch over and protect an innocent part of her life.”
Firuzabad Fars Province, Iran
Soghra Behroozi named her piece “Be Yad e Dadasham”. In Memory of My Brother.
“What she had done was beyond what I had expected. She had a pure emotional connection to what she’d made. She had woven a piece of art. There was so much of her in the rug. It was not just something pretty or decorative. It was part of her innermost self. This was a woman who was illiterate but had used her skill as a weaver like a linguist, an extraordinary storyteller.”
Mahin Village Abarj District, Fars Province, Iran
The Team
I am Nazanin Sadr Azodi, an Iranian-American textile designer. My 18-year career in the design industry has afforded me an in-depth view of mass-market and its unintended damaging effects on local crafts. As a designer as well as a director, my push for high-level design, no matter the tier of market, and the demand for better quality was sometimes met with bottom-line thinking. The stripping of quality, which inevitably would lead to a diluted design aesthetic, and the ever rapid disappearance of local craft traditions left me desiring a higher standard for my design community. I, not only as a maker but also as a consumer, wanted to support products that had soul and a story to tell. What struck me as most needed in today’s market was a spotlight on the talented craftspeople who are effectively the key contributors to the world of design and consumption. Ultimately, my need to better align my daily practice as a designer with my desire to highlight the rare artisan led me back to my home country of Iran where I rediscovered my love of textiles and the women who make them. This time of reflecting and connecting with these women through a shared narrative experience and our love of weaving was humbling and beautiful. To learn about the history and mythology of rug weaving in Iran, where its roots lie, was a haunting and an unforgettable experience that I want to share with others.
Creator, Writer, Director Anamnesis Short Film Writer and Photographer Anamnesis Book
Hida Fouladvand is an award-winning journalist, special news events editor, producer and media strategist with over 20 years of expansive industry experience in innovative multi-format content production. For the past ten years, she worked for Al Jazeera Media Network overseeing all future editorial coverage and production in North America for the network from the newsroom and in the field. Prior to Al Jazeera Media Network, Fouladvand worked with CNN and CNN International as the US Affairs Producer where she covered political, cultural, business and international stories for the global audience. She began her career in Iran in 1997 during the Iranian presidential elections where she worked for a variety of international news outlets. Throughout her career, while she has covered many significant news events such as the US presidential elections, Middle East unrest, natural disasters as well as secured interviews with a multitude of high profile dignitaries and guests from around the world -the stories that matter to her most are ones that are from people affected by the world in chaos or just people who seem to be forgotten, believing that absolutely everyone has a story to tell.
Executive Producer Anamnesis Short Film Editor Anamnesis Book
Reza Sayah is the creative director of Ravian Films. He loves to tell stories. For the past 20 years, he has told stories around the world for international news organizations including CNN, Al Jazeera, PBS News Hour, and France 24. In 2008, Reza helped launch CNN’s bureau in Pakistan where he reported on the country’s ongoing political turmoil. In 2013, he moved to Egypt where he covered the crisis that followed the Egyptian revolution. Reza has also covered the conflicts in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Throughout his career, Reza has seen first-hand the powerful impact of storytelling, whether it’s reporting on world events, communicating a message in today’s digital world, or selling products and services.
Producer Anamnesis Short Film
Gelareh Kiazand is a Director of Photography based between Tehran & Toronto. Having studied in Dubai, London and Toronto she began her career as a film photographer in Iranian cinema and later as a Director of Photography for documentaries. As a filmmaker, she has traveled across Iran to some of the country’s most remote locations. In 2010 she moved to Afghanistan to work as a Creative Director and Filmmaker. She spearheaded a 13 part documentary series about health and women’s issues in Afghanistan, spanning from Kandahar to Badakhshan. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Arts in Tehran, Iran as well as Arles Photo Festival in 2017. She has worked with VICE, Paramount, PBS, Al Jazeera and independent producers spanning across Afghanistan, India, Turkey, Azarbaijan, Europe, Argentina and Antarctica. In 2017 she presented at TED xTehran. Her talk focused on her travels and the ambitions behind them. In 2016, she became one of Iran’s first female Director of Photography for a Cinematic feature film post the Iranian revolution.
Director of Photography & Camera Anamnesis Short Film
Ali Jalali is a videographer and editor based in Tehran, Iran. He currently works with Ravian Films as their resident multipotentialite. He shoots, edits, color corrects, sound designs, does graphics, and handles much of the logistics during productions.
He is a passionate artist whose attention to detail takes each project he works on to the next level. Perhaps Ali’s greatest strength is his calmness under pressure thanks to his impressive meditation skills.
Editor, Sound Designer, Camera Anamnesis Short Film
Alireza Anooshfar is a Graphic Designer based in Tehran, Iran. With over 20 years of experience in the design world, he cultivates a clean and minimalistic aesthetic that makes every project he works on a strong and powerful visual statement. His approach, to dig deep into the origins and motivations of each project, and graphically express it results in designs that are often simple but with quite a lot to convey. His love of architecture is apparent in the lines and forms of his work and informs his choices for his photographic subjects. He is also a die-hard Tin Tin fan!
Graphic Designer Anamnesis Book