Saeivar's 'Hijamat' Heads to Karlovy Vary
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- Nader Saeivar premieres "Hijamat" at Karlovy Vary, his fourth feature and first shot outside Iran, set in Berlin with German stars Kida Khodr Ramadan, Moritz Bleibtreu, and Nastassja Kinski
- "Hijamat" centers on Karam, a man whose secret romantic relationship with another man sends shockwaves through his deeply religious Muslim family, which Saeivar chose as a vehicle for "knocking down walls" in both Muslim and Western communities
- Jafar Panahi has been Saeivar's collaborator since 2017, and since returning to Iran has spent every day in court trying to get his passport back — Saeivar says Iranian filmmakers now devote only about 20% of their energy to making films
- Saeivar left Iran for Berlin roughly 18 months ago; he says he could technically return but his passport would "probably be confiscated," complicating any future departure
- Saeivar describes Iran as "probably the most secular country in the world," citing an "aversion towards religion among the young generation" that he says is more pronounced than in Europe
- The film's title refers to traditional Iranian wet cupping therapy, which Saeivar uses as a metaphor for purging "dirty blood" — outdated mindsets — arguing that political change in Iran must be preceded by a "mental Hijamat"
- Saeivar says he wishes the United States had not attacked Iran, expressing hope that the country's young people could have achieved change on their own, "much sooner that it will now"
Why it matters: Saeivar's shift from Iranian-set films to a Berlin diaspora story — paired with his account of Panahi's daily court battles over a passport even after an Oscar campaign — illustrates how the Iranian state weaponizes travel documents against filmmakers, reducing their creative output to roughly 20% of their working time, per Saeivar's own estimate.
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