Mostafa Keshvari is an award-winning Persian/Canadian writer, director, and producer based in Vancouver. He was nominated for the “Top 25 Canadian immigrants Award” by Canadian Immigration in 2022. As a diverse artist, Mostafa is an active member of the Directors and Writers Guild of Canada (DGC), Writer’s Guild of Canada (WGC), Canadian Motion Picture Association (CMPA), and the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA). We had the pleasure to speak to Mostafa about his career and latest project ‘Colorblind’, ahead of its world premiere at the 2022 Montreal Black Film Festival this September 20th, 2022.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Congratulations on your career to date. How did you get into the industry?
Thank you. I was always a visual kid and was influenced by Persian poetry and painting. My imagination was never satisfied and took me finally to film, where there’s no limit to its playground. After my scholarship at Vancouver Film School, I quit my banking job and found my path. As Rumi said 800 years ago, ” As you walk the path, the path appears.”
Who are your biggest industry influences, and why?
I don’t watch many films. I believe good filmmakers have a small TV and a big library. I get inspired by the poems of Rumi and Khayyam, the paintings of Salvador Dali, and the philosophy of Sufism. Nature is the purest form of art and has had the most impact on me.
Among your many accolades, you were recently nominated for the “Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award” by Canadian Immigration in 2022. Congratulations! Of your many industry achievements, which are you most proud of?
Being able to give voice to many people who need to be heard but are often ignored in Hollywood is a gift. From stories of a child bride to a Mexican refugee and an intuitive boy dealing with climate change, all my films have been on relevant issues we are all still struggling with. Changing even one person’s life or perspective for the better would be my biggest achievement.
You’re an active member of the Directors and Writers Guild of Canada (DGC), Writer’s Guild of Canada (WGC), Canadian Motion Picture Association (CMPA), and the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA). For the benefit of our audiences, please tell us more about these organizations, their importance, and the support they provide for those entering the creative professions.
I believe all these organizations are helpful in finding your path, but the most important organization to stay on your path is your own heart. As an artist, you must keep creating regardless of how you are divided by the public. It’s the way of life.
Please tell us more about your latest project, “Colorblind,” and its origins.
Colorblind was the first film to be developed by color scientists to accurately display racism and symbolically address racism. I wrote the script after watching George Floyd’s incident and couldn’t stop writing as the need for justice was fueling my pen. As a person of color who has experienced racism, I reached out to the black community and filmmaker friends. We did go through many revisions and what you see on the screen is the result of our common human values for justice and equality. I was just a vassal that the universe chose to tell this story, and we were all part of a bigger picture.
The film takes the audience through a heart-wrenching journey into the complexities of race and social injustices from the refreshingly different angle of a colorblind mother and son. What do you want audiences to take away from this movie?
I don’t try to direct the audience’s emotions, and they need to come to their own conclusion. All I hope is that it could help us see each other beyond our God-given skin colors and look at what’s beyond even if you want to judge someone, judge based on what they have chosen by free will, not on what we have been given.
You’ve been working successfully in the film industry for several years. Is it now becoming easier for you to get films like Corona and Colorblind made?
It’s easier in terms of the confidence I have in my skills after every project, but it’s still hard to fund a film if you are a minority or not making a zombie movie. The industry is very profit-based and the real artists usually don’t survive in it unless you fight with the power of your content to hopefully reach the audience’s heart. After 15 films, I am yet to receive a single significant support from the government film funds, but that’s not a good reason not to make films you believe in.
What other projects are you currently working on?
I am working on a film about the Persian poet Omar Khayyam’s life, and we will aim to film in Uzbekistan next year. I am also collaborating with my indigenous partners on a film about missing indigenous women.
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects?
I hope they get to see it at festivals, if not on major streaming platforms with the courage to show something new to their audience.
Check the trailer and details of Colorblind via the following link
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