Morse

Synopsis:

Three ex-political prisoners, all of them once sentenced to death, gather to summon the ghost of Khosrow, one of their old comrades. It’s said that Khosrow had committed suicide in prison, but now would they find a way to the truth in their reunion?

Director’s View:

In my childhood, I often listened to my father’s youth memories which led to the imprisonment for his political activities: memories of his morsels with his cellmates; and memories of people in prison who ratted out their friends and comrades either for their own interests, such as free pardon and a bright future, or even under torture and pressure.

Later, when I grew up to be a filmmaker and observed my community closely, I turned to my memories and realized that there are still so many people living with moral vices and differences… there are still so many pseudo-comrades who may leave you alone in times of trouble and sell you for a price…

MORSE is about these human behaviors. For me, MORSE is some kind of “The Last Supper” where Judas is tried; it is some kind of the play, “Hamlet”, underlining a reaction to the traitor, Claudius. MORSE is about my heroes who, regardless of their orientation and their ways of thinking, were imprisoned and executed for one common goal: freedom…

Director’s Profile:

Ronak Jafari was born in 1989 in Tehran into an artist family. Daughter of a documentary filmmaker father and an actress mother, Jafari spent her childhood behind the scenes of Iranian films. She also appeared in some of his father’s films. At 19, she made a one-minute film which entered local festivals and brought her awards and recognition. She made eight documentaries and two short films. Her first short film, DOUBLE,  was selected in different film festivals such as Moscow (Russia), Kine Nova (Macadonia), Bilbao – Zinebi (Spain), Tehran (Iran), IRANCI – Iranian film festival in Prague ( Czech Republic), etc. MORSE is her second short film.

Written & Directed by: Ronak Jafari

Producers: Mohammad Yousefi, Amir Hossein Enayati

Production Company: IYCS

DoP: Masoud Salami

Editor: Pouyan Sholevar

Music: Payam Azadi

Production Designer: Reyhaneh Esmaeilian

Costume Designer: Mina Salimi

Sound Designer: Alireza Alavian

Sound Engineer: Amir Shahverdi

Makeup: Abbas Abbasi

Visual Effects: Arash Aghabeik

Cast: Hadi Hejazifar (Bahram), Saman Saffari (Fariborz), Salman Farkhondeh (Ali), Sahra Asadollahi (Atefeh), Hooman Rahnamoon (Seyed Alishah).

Iran, 2022, Arii Mini Alexa, DCP, 2K, Color, 2.35:1, 5.1, 25 mins.