Majid majidi On a song

The Song of Sparrows has caught the attention of cinema circles across the globe, attracting huge crowds eager to see the latest work by acclaimed director Majid Majidi.
"The sparrow is not a singing bird. It's a beautiful bird that has no words to sing, and in my film, it represents all the people who have no voice and no one to listen to them," Majidi says, introducing his film.

This Iranian film features many more symbols, including the name of the leading character, Karim. Karim in Arabic means generous, and in the first part of the film we see Karim, despite his obvious poverty, going home and sharing his humble dinner with five other families. This on the day he is fired from his job.

"Karim has two characters in the film. The first one is the kind and generous Karim, who knows right from wrong and who shares everything. The second character emerges after losing his job, when he becomes desperate for money, cold and cynical," Majidi says.

Identify with the characters

"The only professional actor in Sparrows is Reza Naji, who plays the part of Karim, but the rest are all normal people. I just give my actors the script and let them identify with the characters they are playing."

Naji, who won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his performance in this film, strongly agrees. The two met 12 years ago when Majidi was casting for another film, Children of Heaven.

Another symbol in the film is an ostrich, Majidi said. "The ostrich's name in Persian is a combination of two words: camel and hen. It is a big bird that walks on the ground but has wings and can fly. In the film, Karim is made to look like an ostrich. His nose was made longer, and in some scenes he appears wearing a helmet, which makes his head resemble that of the ostrich," he said.

"My passion with human interest stories keep me away from political films," explains Majidi, who is also the writer of the film. "And I don't face difficulties when shooting my films in Iran, because my stories are all about people's lives.
"In Iran, we produce 70 to 90 films every year, and they cover all kinds of issues. This is why I stay with what I like to do.

Children of Heaven, is still shown and liked 12 years after I made it. This proves that human stories are timeless."
Sparrows, screened last night, has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the Best Foreign Language Film.