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Raha Faridi

Chicheka Lullaby

SOUNDS AND SCENES FROM SOUTH OF IRAN

Technical Information

  • English TitleChicheka Lullaby
  • Persian Titleچی‌چکا قصه‌ی شب
  • Year of Completion2018
  • Runtime 97:00 min.
  • Language Persian
  • Aspect Ratio 16:9
  • Shooting Format Digital
  • Colour Colour
  • Format DCP
  • Sound 5.1 stereo
  • GenreEthnographic
    Portrait
    Music Documentary
22 Chichka

Synopsis

“Chicheka Lullaby” is a music and anthropological documentary. It pictures the life story of the influential musician of south of Iran, Ebrahim Monsefi. He was an alternative artist in challenge with his society who lived a creative life with a strong sense of humor combined with depression. He died 20 years ago in poverty and drug addiction but created 100s of lyrics and recorded more than 200 songs with a small cassette player. He traveled spreading the message of love and freedom and inspired many with his words, voice and guitar. Today’s musicians are covering his songs but his story has never been told. The film not only archives a collection of traditional music and contemporary fusion but also opens up a window to south of Iran, showing the people’s culture and lifestyle.

Logline

The story of a musician omitted from society, who inspired a generation by songs of freedom, love and pain.

Crew Information

  • Director, Editor, Cinematographer Raha Faridi
  • Production Raha Faridi (Raha Films)
  • Edit Advisor Kambiz Safari
  • Sound Edit and Mix Amirhossein Ghasemi
  • Colorist Farhad Ghodsi
  • Music Ebrahim Monsefi
  • Graphics Navid GhaemMaghami
  • Post-production funded through a Kickstarter campaign

Director Biography

Raha Faridi (born 1980) is an experimental artist, filmmaker, radio producer, and storyteller. Her work spans anthropology, music, gender equality, arts and culture since 2000. For over a decade, she uncovered Iran's underground music scene at BBC-World service Radio. In 2009, she ventured across Iran, creating independent documentaries. In 2022, she began working as a freelance artist in Berlin. Her interdisciplinary work explores urban and intellectual themes with a serious yet playful manner.

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Director Statement

"I've devoted years to creating this film. Documenting and preserving the remnants of my grandparents' culture, a culture slowly fading, has always been my dream. Over four years, I journeyed through the region with only a backpack, a small camera, and a sound recorder, completing every step of production myself: research, filming, sound recording, interviews, and editing. Alongside, I took on the critical task of collecting, digitizing, and archiving Hormozgan's scattered musical and literary heritage; videos, cassettes, photos, hand-written notes, and poems, many of which were in danger of disappearing forever.
As a music researcher, I was naturally drawn to the musical aspects of the story. But what makes this project even more meaningful is its focus on Ebrahim Monsefi, the film’s central figure, who was unjustly excluded from his society’s artistic landscape. I relate deeply to his plight, as I, too, am an artist denied the freedom to express myself in my homeland. None of my films were ever shown in Iran, and I faced detention for my work as a researcher, journalist, and filmmaker. Thus, this film is more than a documentary; it is nearly autobiographical, reflecting the struggles of Iranian artists across generations. Chicheka Lullaby portrays not only one man's life but also paints a portrait of an entire society."

Chicheka Lullaby

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