by Oliver Spicer.
Anaita Wali Zada as Donya in Fremont, supplied by EIFF.
Carefully composed shots of Babak Jalali's new feature
The locations chosen allow for a blend of cultures to be depicted on-screen, such as the title town of Fremont holding the largest Afghan community in America and China Town in San Francisco: where Donya is employed as a writer for fortune cookies. A variation of characters from these locations have extended conversations with Donya that touch upon the immigrant experience, as well as modern romance and new opportunities.
At first the noticeable visuals of the film seem to set the tone, with black and white cinematography paired with a compacted aspect ratio. This is also true for the sparse soundscape of scenes that are only bordered with musical interjections. Yet, the true tone comes from the mix of comedic and melancholic moments that brings a lifelike quality to every scene.
Before Fremont's sold out showings at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it was chosen to close the festival, I had to opportunity to talk to the director Babak Jalali about the inspirations and motivations behind the film...
OLIVER
I was wondering first about the title location: Fremont. What drew you to there?
BABAK
Well I made my second feature film also in the Bay Area: in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Oakland. And this was eight years ago. And up to that point I had never heard about the city of Fremont. But I found out it was actually the city that houses the biggest Afghan population in America. So I went there, primarily to eat Afghan food as it's very similar to Iranian food. And I had always had an affinity with Afghan people because we share a language and a lot of shared history, they had a presence in the stories of my other films as well.
When I went to Fremont I found out that there were quite a few former translators there. And the situation was quite grim for them, as they were granted special immigration visas to come over but after taking that journey they were abandoned. And it was a peculiar thing because a lot of their own community looked down upon them because they consider them sell-outs. And almost all of them didn't do it for any kind of political or lets say moral reasons, it was primarily for work in a place where work was scarce. And also trying to find a way out through a visa. So I kept on going back to Fremont with Carolina Cavalli to focus on these ideas from other former translators.
OLIVER
And there are so many languages spoken in the film. Was the aspect of multi-culturalism important to you?
BABAK
Yeah, absolutely. Fremont is kind of a microcosm of the whole Bay Area because besides the Afghan community we just mentioned there's also a large population of Indian, Taiwanese, Chinese, Latino people. And they've been living in generations next to each other, very peacefully I might add, and the bay area in general has that spirit and vibe to it. And it was very naturally to show that. When two Afghans are speaking to each other they speak Dali or Farsi, or when two Chinese people are meeting they speak in Mandarin or Cantonese for example, and then when they speak to an American they speak English. So it was very natural verses two Afghans speaking English to each other.
Donya working in the fortune cookie factory, supplied by EIFF.
OLIVER
And what was the process of casting Anaita?
BABAK
So Anaita has never acted before, it was her first time in front of the camera. On my previous three films I had predominantly worked with non-professionals so I was used to doing that. But Fremont is a mixture of professionals and non-professionals. I wasn't closed off to the idea of having someone professional play the role but the pool of professional Afghan actresses in America is not really big. So we did an open casting call on social media and Afghan community websites around America. We got some responses and I video called with people, mostly second generation Afghan, from all across America: Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, California, and New York. And it was getting a bit disheartening as I didn't see someone who was suitable.
And then suddenly Anaita sent me an email saying: "I'm Anaita, I'm twenty-two and a friend of mine passed on a community centre post about your film. I've never acted before, my English is not great, and I just arrived five months ago on an evacuation flight with my older sister when the Taliban returned. The rest of my family are still in Afghanistan and we settled in Maryland."
So we got on a Zoom call and immediately when I saw her, just her presence and the way she carried herself was very... cool. And also her own story: although not a former translator, the fact that she just arrived at that age and started from scratch. I think she would relate to the character of Donya. She came over to Oakland, to where we were based, and she was so determined and brought a lot to the role because of her own past and present situation. We were very very lucky to have her.
OLIVER
And does it change how you direct when someone is non-professional and also when they have that kind of close association with the story?
BABAK
Yes, it's different. Well, I actually have a lot more experience directing non-professionals than professionals. I really like working with non-professionals but I have a much greater appreciation for it than during my first film. During my first film I was like "why... can't you do this" but then gradually as time has passed I've constantly thought to myself" God, if I was in front of that camera - I be pissing myself, so scared. The whole crew around and all". So I always found that people had a perception of acting where things need to be overdone or detatched from reality. I've found with non-professionals that the best way is to start is very low: speaking the line without any emotion. Then to big it up is easier than if someone starts very dramatic.
And I think when someone's personal story is not too dissimilar... it has it's complications because it can be too close to home for them. And we experienced that a couple times on set during this film. But as long as you know it's not a situation where it's traumatic and you discuss how comfortable they are, then it's okay.
OLIVER
And then with the style of the film, it uses Academy Ratio and black and white, what lead you towards those choices?
BABAK
Yeah it's a question I've been asked often and I wish I had an elegant answer to this, I really don't have a proper intellectual reason for this - it was completely in my blood. When we were writing it I didn't see it as black and white, in my mind it was very colourful. Very late, just prior to pre-production, I had this real sudden urge that this film would look better in black and white and the atmosphere would be better served. The Academy Ratio decision was also made with Laura Valladao, the cinematographer. The references we were sending back and forth mainly focused on medium format photography. The black and white aspect of it was that the locations we had, the story we had, the tone we had - all of it would come across stronger in black and white and I was very lucky that my producer was supportive of it, because a lot of people wouldn't be. They'd be terrified, thinking people won't watch black and white and people won't buy black and white.
Part of that reason about the atmosphere is that Fremont essential serves as a commuter town. I say this with full love, because I'm also from a very provincial, far and forsaken area in Iran and I have an affinity for those kind of places. But it's not the most exciting looking place and it's right next to one of the world's major attractions: San Francisco. So I didn't want it to seem that when Donya leaves Fremont to commute to San Francisco that she goes from this boring city town to a huge metropolis and that everything is going to be okay because she's in San Francisco with all the vibrant colours. The black and white kind of helps to equalise that.
Black and white cinematography in Fremont, supplied by EIFF.
OLIVER
You mentioned Iran. I'm a fan of Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi and they both make almost political films, but more social messages in their film. I was wondering if this film has those same kind of messages.
BABAK
I think Kiarostami and Panahi were working in a situation where you have no choice but to be more... subtle. To get around censorship and deliver a message, you can't be so forceful and in your face. Which I think works in their favour. Because those films are stronger because of it.
My favourite Iranian director of all time is someone who is no longer around, his name is Sohrab Shahid-Sales, and I actually thank him at the bottom of every film I have every made. He died in 1998 very young and only made two films in Iran before emigrating to Germany, and he made them in the early 70s long before I came into this world. But he made them in my home town. One of them is called
OLIVER
I was also wondering about the female lead aspect. Obviously women's rights in Afghanistan changes every day. Did current news feed into your film?
BABAK
We we're supposed to shoot this film in 2020 but the pandemic happened. Then a year later the Taliban returned and Afghanistan completely changed again. When we wrote it, we weren't thinking about the Taliban coming back - but they did. I'm always worried about doing something that's topical and something that's constantly on the news today. It feels a bit band waggon-ey.
The reality is that most Afghan translators were men, but there were a lot of women who were also translators. And I think one of the primary reasons that our main character is a women is because I'm Iranian and lived my first three years in Iran, then I moved to England with my family. So growing up we had a huge Afghan community - we share a language and so many similarities. So I know a lot of Afghan people and that includes a lot of Afghan women. And a lot of Afghan women I met were very powerful, very motivated, had aspirations and independence; Whereas the focus in the media and on films when they portray Afghan women is always focusing in on the oppression, which is very real I'm not denying that. But I think we often need to show other aspects so we don't get weighed down on the idea that these women don't know anything apart from being oppressed.
Back to your question, the reality is that the situation for Afghan women or any women is dire - it really is dire. And I think events in the past year have really highlighted that, such as the demonstrations by women in Iran and in Afghanistan rolling back the years and not allowing women to have education. I think the idea of a female Afghan that has a sense of agency and has a sense of hopes and dreams can in a way show people the possibilities of if women did have the same opportunities that men do that they will handle it.
by Oliver Spicer, August 2023.