Press Kit
Logline
Haunted by a tragic past, a stunning music student Shahrzad (Francia Raisa)
flees Iran and ends up in an estranged marriage in LA, where her piano teacher’s
young lover Sebastian (Ryan Guzman) sparks a passion in her that threatens to
destroy all.
Synopsis
Destiny weaves a love triangle: Shahrzad, a stunning music student, her
husband Sean, a successful stand-up comedian, and Sebastian, a poetic
Spanish American gardener. Caught in the middle is Shahrzad’s piano teacher,
Elana (Daphane Zuniga), a former screen femme fatale, who is having her own
furtive affair with Sebastian.
Soon Sebastian falls in love with Shahrzad. Shahrzad discovers her “arranged”
marriage with Sean is doomed.
Unexpectedly, a friendship flourishes between Shahrzad (Muslim) and her piano
teacher Elana (Jewish) nourished by their passion for classical music, especially
Tchaikovsky’s music. It grows stronger when they learn of each other’s secret
tragedies.
Shahrzad becomes the focus of attention of two women, Elana and Parisa, her
mother-in-law. Simultaneously, Shahrzad becomes the object of desire for three
men: Sebastian, Sean (Max Amini) and Ray (Misha Crosby) her mysterious,
young brother-in-law.
Infusing the young lovers’ secret romance are Rumi’s ecstatic poems and Lorca’s
mysterious poetry that drive Sebastian in hot pursuit of Shahrzad, inflaming a
passionate love that threatens to destroy all.
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Director's Inspiration
“Lorsque rien n’existait, l’amour existait ;
et lorsqu’il ne restera plus rien, l’amour restera ;
il est le premier et le dernier."
“When nothing existed, love existed;
and when nothing shall remain, love shall remain;
it is the first and the last.”
- Princess Shéhérazade, One Thousand and One Nights.
What?
In early 1990’s while studying ‘French language and French Civilization’ at
Sorbonne University in Paris, I read a book called Scheherazade ou L’education
d’un Roi (Sheherazade or the education of a King) written by Marie LahyHollebecque, Paris, 1987. From this book, I saved the above quote which on
screen starts the movie Beyond Paradise.
A dual UK and USA citizen but being of mixed descent and having spent most of
my life in exile – away from motherland and family, studying, living, and working
in London, San Francisco, Rio, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and Paris – I’m
partial to cross cultural love stories. The hope is to encourage inter-nation dialog
towards more understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures.
I’m drawn to the stories of displaced people, the plight of the voiceless and
marginalized minorities of the world, especially women, children, ethnic and
religious minorities, gays, and lesbians.
Beyond Paradise maybe the first movie about the lives of certain Iranian
immigrants uprooted from their homeland and displaced to California. In
particular, the film is about the tragic consequences of violent abuse of a young
classical music student Shahrzad who had to flee Iran.
Perhaps as a therapy against her tragedy, Shahrzad becomes an avid reader of
13th C. Persian poet Rumi. Thus Rumi’s poetry is invoked in the film, a bit similar
to the use of Neruda’s poems in the Italian movie Il Postino. Set in LA, it felt
appropriate Beyond Paradise should be mostly in English language in part to
introduce Rumi’s majestic poetry and the story’s tragic theme ‘Violence Against
Women’ to a wider international audience.
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Images
To arrive at an outline of a story, I need to imagine striking visuals or be struck by
images that are so astonishing and haunting they shadow me during the day and
follow me to bed at night. The images begin to generate, or associate with,
themes or ideas that I care passionately about.It helps if the images or the
themes evoke specific music and/or dance that could become organic elements
of the story.
Music and poetry quickly developed into integral parts of this storytelling. Being a
world music collector (a Patron of World Music Institute in NY) I gravitate to plots
where music and preferably dance and/or poetry are natural elements of the
story. My first feature David & Layla (a political romantic comedy) works because
of its mélange of music worlds of both Jewish David and Muslim Layla, mixed
with New York jazz, NY being the city were the unlikely lovers meet.
Violence Against Women
Beyond Paradise’s Shahrzad character and her tragic story evolved from several
sources. A few years ago, I saw a mobile phone video on YouTube of a delicate
17-year old girl, Dua Khalil Award in Iraq, being stoned to death by men. The
murderers were mostly from her own family. This was a horrific example of the
so-called “Honor Killing." What was Dua’s crime that her family so badly wanted
their ‘Honor’ saved from, driving them to wipe out her existence so abominably?
Dua and a 19-year old boy from a faith different than hers had fallen in love.
The images were so devastating that I could hardly sleep that night. During Dua'a
struggle, a black cloth is thrown over her lower body but it comes off, exposing
her sexy black Western underwear. This further infuriates a guy (maybe her
brother) who slams a concrete block down onto her head to finish her off. So
surreal and disturbing were the grainy and shaky visuals of young Duas trying
helplessly to rise and escape rocks that were struck down onto her, I could never
erase them from my mind.
Neda Soltan's murder in Tehran
Then, in summer 2009 I saw on TV the Tehran street protests against President
Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election. Long batons brutally beat peaceful young
men and women. Suddenly, a young woman was shot and fell to death. This
was Neda Soltan, a music student accompanied by her music teacher. Neda’s
final moments were caught on mobile phones and broadcast around the world
and posted on the Internet. The haunting video of her innocent eyes frozen wide
open and framed by flowing blood on her forehead is featured in Beyond
Paradise.
The fact that Neda Soltan was a young music student led to our fictional
character Shahrzad to be also a music student. Thus allow the organic use of
music in the movie.
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Sheherazade’s 1001 Nights
The next piece came from the classical story of Sheherazade (Shahrzad), the
young princess storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights, misnamed as
Arabian Nights- see Note at bottom.
When Shah ‘King’ Shahryar caught his wife making love to the cook, he was so
enraged he had his wife decapitated. Convinced that all women are false and
faithless, he vowed to behead each of his virgin brides after the first nuptial night.
But the most beautiful of all the virgins, Princess Sheherazade, willingly offered
herself to the Shah. She saved her life by entertaining her lord with compelling
and endless tales.
Sheherazade was so well educated in literature, poetry, theater, art, and history
that she managed to tell fantastic stories night after night. Using her studies of
human nature, Sheherazade immediately captured the Shah’s attention by
making her initial tales to be about betrayal, treachery, vengeance, and death,
often exposing crafty, vile, trickle, and disloyal women.
At each dawn, she cleverly ended on a suspenseful cliff hanger so the Shah
would postpone her death to the next night to hear the rest of the story. But
Sheherazade’s stories within stories were mesmerizing and never ending.
Only when Sheherazade got the Shah’s confidence did she unfold moral tales
spiced with magic, humor, warmth, wit, surprise and happy endings; imaginative
and astonishing tales of fantasy and even some eroticism, with Jins, Houris and
speaking animals, flying magic carpets, and crystals that could instantly reveal
distant scenes, much like today’s internet.
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Many of Sheherazade’s riveting stories featured women to be clever, captivating,
strong, and sensual heroines with noble virtues: wisdom, patience, grace, love,
charm, and yes, absolute loyalty!
Greatest Story Ever Told
Consumed with curiosity, the Shah postponed from day to day the execution of
Sheherazade, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely. He fell in love with
Sheherazade and married her! Thus Sheherazade triumphed not only to save
herself but all the other virgins from being deflowered, and then beheaded.
What a supreme testimony to the magical powers of storytelling that young
Sheherezade enthralled, and educated a betrayed and cruel King by captivating
him with stories within stories night after night, thus preventing the Shah from
deflowering and beheading virginal girls! No wonder A. S. Byatt and other literary
scholars esteem Sheherazade’s 1001 Nights to be the greatest story ever told.
"I don't deserve to be called Shahrzad"
Naturally Sheherazade or Shahrzad is a popular pre-Islam name for girls in Iran.
Naming our music student Shahrzad led to the background subplot that she, too,
tries to save her best school friend Zara from being murdered in Tehran street
protests. Against impossible odds, Shahrzad risks her life to save Zara. But she
fails. Worse: an acid attack terribly scars one of her breasts. She survives with
the memory of Zara’s murder. Scarred physically and emotionally for life,
Shahrzad has to live with the guilt of her failure to save Zara. Hence Shahrzad’s
touching dialog in Beyond Paradise to her lover Sebastian: “I don’t deserve to be
called Shahrzad.”
Music
Sheherazade's’ tales of 1001 nights fascinated Europe and the rest of the world.
Votaire confessed he read 'Mille et Une Nuit' fourteen times before he penned his
'Zadig', a tale in the manner of 1001 Nights- see Note at bottom.
In 1988 the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov paid his homage to
Sheherazade’s 1001 stories by composing a splendid orchestral symphony suite
entitled Sheherazade. In 1910 this Sheherazade symphony inspired the ballet
adaptation Sheherazade in Paris performed by Ballets Russes under Michel
Fokine’s direction.
Luck! Again music showed up. A piece of Sheherazade's music opens the
movie. It became a recurring theme on the movie’s soundtrack.
Rumi and Lorca’s Poetry
Shahrzad’s story about Love naturally led to the 13 C. Persian poet Rumi who
had written about Divine Spirituality and Love. Fortunately, Rumi also composed
ecstatic romantic love poems in 13th C., some 300 years before Shakespeare’s
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poetry about the magic of love. I felt this astonishing fact needs to be celebrated
in our story.
To compliment Shahrzad’s love for Rumi’s poetry, I developed her lover
Sebastian to Spanish-American. Thus the motivation to invoke Federico Garcia
Lorca’s poems to parallel Shahrzad’s passion for Rumi. Poetry became an
additional attraction between the two lovers.
See the complete list of Rumi and Lorca's poems used in the movie in sequence
at Poems.
Breast Cancer
About the time of developing these characters and themes, my London-based
sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Later my older sister was also
discovered with breast cancer. I made Shahrzad’s piano teacher Elana to be also
afflicted with breast cancer. Thus Elana and Shahrzad discover that in addition to
their common passion for Tchaikovsky’s music, they both suffer from breast
problems. By sharing their secret breast tragedies, Shahrzad and Elana
gradually bond and become best friends... while both in love with Sebastian.
Qismat = Destiny. Love Triangle
Qismat or Destiny is part of the Iranian and the Middle East's culture.
Shahrzad flees Iran and marries an Iranian American stand-up comedian in Los
Angeles in a kind of arranged marriage- a marriage of convenience. To escape to
freedom, many girls hopelessly stuck under oppressive regimes, some even
suffering, or threatened with, violent abuse, marry men of their own ethnicity who
are already successful and established in the free West.
By creating the Shahrzad character to be a classical music student, it gave the
idea to create Elana. Elana becomes Shahrzad’s piano teacher. Since Shahrzad
is Muslim, making Elana to be Jewish, albeit a reformist liberal Jewess, it made
the student and teacher dialog and relationship more interesting.
Young Sebastian is Elana’s handsome and poetic gardener. He's also her secret
beau. But it’s Coup de Foudre, Love at First Sight, when Sebastian by accident
(Destiny) first sees Shahrzad. Later by the ocean waves, Shahrzad weeps over a
Farsi word she had written in the sand: ‘Qismat.'
A complex Love Triangle ensues between Shahrzad, Sean her husband, and
Sebastian, with the piano teacher Elana caught in the middle. Referring to the
impossibility of their situation, Shahrzad in a tender scene says to Sebastian
"Maybe it's my fate."
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Classical Music
Shahrzad, Elana and Sebastian, and their passion for music and poetry, led to
the natural use of both Iranian and Western classical music on the movie’s
soundtrack.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Sheherazade” poignant and tender music opens the movie.
This sweet music is played over the shockingly violent beating of Shahrzad and
Zara during the Tehran street protests. This may remind of Stanley Kubrick’s use
of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 to contrast the gang rape scene in A Clockwork
Orange. Korsakov’s Sheherazade music is repeated during Beyond Paradise to
underline and contrast the beauty and poetry of Life against the ugly and
senseless violence of some men.
Shahrzad’s teacher Elana, the classical pianist, gave the chance to feature a few
notes of the classical music of Tchaikovsky, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. This
parallels the use of classical Persian music played on ancient instruments of Iran:
Setar, Ney, Robab, Santoor, Daf and Tonbak, some of which are about 4000
years old.
Hear samples of music cues used in the movie at Music Soundtrack.
Why?
How is it that women who hundreds of years ago had such important roles in
literature and society and were the objects and muses of high admiration,
passionate poems, and splendid music, but now they are objects of fear, abuse,
oppression, beatings, acid attacks, even being stoned to death? Why in the 21st
C. are women still not allowed the same freedom as men? As Shahrzad
says "(Back home) I was not even allowed to sing in public."
The Ocean
The ocean is a constant metaphor from the start of the story to the end. The
lovers’ rendez-vous are often on the beach. Their poignant, joyous, and sad
romance scenes occur by the sea; as is their final tragic scene. The backdrop
imagery of the ocean echoes Life, including the lovers’ ideal of Love: beautiful,
deep, turbulent, vast, ceaseless, and forever. The final scene of the script reads:
“Camera flies, chasing the gun down the cliff. It sweeps over the rocks, searching
for Shahrzad and Sebastian's bodies. Nothing is seen or heard except the sound
of the wind and the sight of the ocean endlessly returning to embrace the shore
over and over, as if nothing happened...”
Beyond Paradise’s end may remind of Romeo and Juliet’s finale. But Beyond
Paradise ends with a surprise additional ending: a dream-like ending that fades
to pure white: a divine wish that perhaps true love survived; thus book-ending the
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opening 'Sheherazade' quote of the movie: “When nothing existed, love existed;
and when nothing shall remain, love shall remain; it is the first and the last.”
In the same vein, Rumi's spiritual poem “Cycle of Life” is divinely sang by the
actress/singer Fereshteh Dehghani in the final ending of the movie.
I died as a mineral, I grew as a plant
I died as a plant, I arose as an animal
I died as an animal, I returned as a human
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
When I die as a human, I shall fly with the angels
When I leave my angel-soul, I soar higher
I shall reach the ecstasy of the Divine
All shall perish, except the Divine.
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet
Note:
Persian 'Hazar Afsan' or 'Hazar o Yak Shab' that's Sheherazade's 1001 nights
was developed further in the golden age of Middle East arts and literature. It's
translated into every language, including into Arabic and French, correctly as the
original 'One Thousand and One Night.'
Except for the British who changed the marvelous and poetic 'One Thousand and
On Night' to the banal and commercial title of 'Arabian Nights Entertainment'
(later to 'Arabian Nights') accentuating the sexuality of the stories to titillate and
attract more readers of the repressed Britain under Queen Victoria.
The 1001 Nights influenced almost every writer of fame from Boccaccio
(Decameron) to Cervantes, Voltaire, Hans Christian Anderson, Tolstoy,
Wordsworth,... and Borges. Indeed the list of major writers directly inspired by
One Thousand One Night is so long that after some 20 years of research the
British scholar Dr. Robert Irwin* concludes that it'd be much shorter to list authors
who don't appear to have been influenced by the 1001 Nights.
* "The Arabian Nights- A Companion" by Robert Irwin, London 1994.
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Cast
Francia Raisa (Shahrzad)
As a Gracie Award and La Femme Film Festival Rising Star Award recipient,
2012 Teen Choice, IMAGEN and an ALMA award nominee for her portrayal of
‘Adrian Lee’ on ABC Family’s critically acclaimed series “The Secret Life of an
American Teenager,” Francia Raisa continues to prove herself as a star on the
rise. Francia was featured on the August 2012 cover of Backstage magazine as
one of Young Hollywood’s top Latinos in American TV and Film, further proving
she is the one to watch.
Francia was born and raised in Southern California to mother Virginia
Almendarez of Mexico and father Maximo Renan Almendarez Coello of
Honduras, (one of the most recognized radio personalities and #1 Latino DJs in
Los Angeles). At the age of five, Francia began taking dance lessons to learn all
styles from tap to jazz, acrobatics, hip- hop and Polynesian. In addition to dance,
she trained in karate and ice-skating. Looking to expand her talents her junior
year of high school, Francia decided to study both acting and modeling. She
started to get noticed, and soon began to model for print ads and national
commercials. A month into her senior year of high school, Francia booked her
first lead role, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere in Bring it On: All or Nothing.
Not long after wrapping Bring it On, Francia booked the lead female role of
MGM’s TV movie for ABC Family The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream,
before ultimately landing her breakout role as ‘Adrian Lee,’ a series regular ABC
Family’s award-winning The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Created by
Brenda Hampton (7th Heaven), the program broke all records for an original
series on the network, including taking the #1 spot in its time slot for cable TV
when it premiered in summer of 2008. The show is one of the most popular teen
TV shows on air. Up next, Francia will be seen on an upcoming episode of The
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Mindy Project, and she has been cast as a recurring player in The CW pilot The
Company Town. Adding to an even more exciting year, Francia will star as Tory
Bell in the ABC Family movie Christmas Bounty, produced by Michael Luisi (The
Call) and WWE Studios. In addition to her success on television, the horror film
Chastity Bites, in which Francia stars, is set to release later this year.
Francia currently resides in Los Angeles and continues to stay true to her
dancing roots with weekly advanced classes at a dance studio in Hollywood.
Francia strives to be a role model for all her female fans. In her spare time, she
works to raise awareness on important causes such as hunger, domestic
violence, sex trafficking and female empowerment.
Ryan Guzman (Sebastian)
Ryan Guzman was a model, MMA fighter and is now an actor who has caught
the notice of Hollywood. Guzman has been seen in television commercials for
Old Navy, Gillette, Candies and the Oprah Winfrey Network. He has been a
successful print model in San Francisco signing with LOOK Modeling Agency at
the age of 18 and in Los Angeles, where he joined the esteemed Wilhelmina
Agency at age 22. He has modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch, Affliction and
Reebok among others.
Born in Texas and raised in his hometown of Sacramento, Guzman never
thought of becoming an actor, much less a dancer. At the age of 7, he developed
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an interest in martial arts and earned his first black belt in Tae Kwon Do by the
age of 10. This led him into the octagon as a MMA fighter in Sacramento until his
fighting license expired in 2010, while also modeling. A gifted athlete, he was a
sought-after left-handed pitcher with a fastball clocked between 87-90 miles per
hour. A shoulder injury ended this career dream while Guzman was still a
teenager.
He sought out a talent manager and after having signed with one started the
audition process a few short months later for Step Up Revolution and landed the
male lead.
He followed with the indie film Beyond Paradise directed by J.J. Alani, and most
recently There’s Always Woodstock directed by Rita Merson and April Rain
directed by Luciano Saber.
Lionsgate Summit Entertainment cast Ryan to be the lead in number 5 of the
Step-Up series of movies, expected to be released in 3D in 2014.
He can be seen as “Jake” on the international hit ABC Family series Pretty Little
Liars.
Daphne Zuniga (Elana)
Daphne Zuniga is beloved by generations of moviegoers for her performances in
such classic films as Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs, and The Sure Thing, in which she
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starred opposite John Cusack. On television, she starred as Jo Beth Reynolds on
the hit series Melrose Place, played the scheming Victoria Davis for five seasons
on One Tree Hill, and starred on the ABC Family series Beautiful People. Over
the past several years she has also starred in a number of highly-rated movies
for television, including On Strike for Christmas, A Family Thanksgiving, and her
latest, Gone Missing. On stage, she starred in the world premiere of Theresa
Rebeck’s play The Scene, and will soon be seen in the film version.
Outside of acting, she is deeply committed to environmental issues, and was a
founding member of Earth Communications Office (ECO), an organization that
harnesses the power of the environmental movement and the entertainment
community. In 2009, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed her to
the founding board of the the LA River Revitalization Corporation. A native of
Berkeley, CA, she recently completed work on the feature film A Remarkable
Life.
Misha Crosby (Ray)
Misha Crosby (born 28 January 1987) is a British actor based in Hollywood,
California.
Crosby was born and brought up in London. He was a music scholar at school
and lead a world premier on the violin at the Wigmore Hall at 14 years old. He
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performed for the National Youth Music Theatre and went on to train at Drama
Studio London.
He previously starred in the BBC television series Holby City as Sam Strachan’s
son Kieron, in Channel 4′s Hollyoaks and has had various guest appearances in
other TV shows. In 2011 he was cast as Ryan Harwell in the Warner Brothers
television series The Lying Game.
Film roles include, Abbas in the award winning British feature film Life Goes On,
and he stars in Beyond Paradise, as the traumatized loner Ray, set for release in
2014.
Max Amini (Sean)
Max Amini was born in Tucson Arizona and was raised on the East Coast. He
graduated from UCLA’s school of Theater, Film and Television in 2004. As an
actor, Max has over 50 film and television credits including NBC’s Heroes,
regular appearances on Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia, and a leading role in
the upcoming feature film Beyond Paradise.
Max began his standup comedy career in 2002 at the LA Improv. In 2009 Max
was chosen as one of the finalists for NBC’s Diversity Showcase. Through an
array of eccentric impressions and novel storytelling, Max expresses his comedy
by delivering a strong message about family ties, cultural aspects, and social
topics. What really sets Max apart from most comedians is his ability to
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improvise and create on the spot. It’s not uncommon for an audience member to
sit through two Max Amini shows in one night and find two totally different
performances.
Max is now headlining his own shows and his international tour is in places like
Canada, England, Australia, Germany, Dubai, Sweden, and Malaysia and have
been well received.
Yareli Arizmandi (Parisa)
Award winning actress, writer and producer, Yareli Arizmendi is best known for
her tour de force performances as “Rosaura” in Like Water for Chocolate and
“Lila Rodriguez” in A Day Without a Mexican which she co-wrote and coproduced. Her recent films include Beyond Paradise directed by J. Jonroy The
Road directed by David De Leon both presently in post-production, Mariachi
Gringo directed by Tom Gustafson, winner of the Guadalajara Film Festival 2012,
América by Sonia Fritz with Eddie Olmos, Don’t Let Me Drown by Cruz Angeles,
Fast Food Nation by Rick Linklater and Naco Es Chido by Sergio Arau which she
co-produced as well. She has starred in numerous American episodic shows
including House, Medium, 24, Six Feet Under, and Heroes and has lent her voice
to many products, public awareness campaigns and audio books including The
Alchemist,Like Water for Chocolate, The Law of Love and Malinche.
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Her work with Luis Valdez at Teatro Campesino and Teatro de la Esperanza with
Jose Luis Valenzuela helped shape the socially conscious work to come. A
partial list of those interviewed by her includes: Noam Chomsky, Jesse Jackson,
Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine) Junot Diaz (Pulitzer Prize winner – The Brief
Life of Oscar Wao), Lila Downs, Maria Hinojosa, Rigoberta Menchú, Amy
Goodman (host of Democracy Now), and John Perkins (Confessions of an
Economic Hit Man). Yareli is presently working on a novel entitled The Story of Y.
A curious auto-biography which brings a bi-national, bi-cultural political and social
reality into sharp focus through the eyes of a young girl making sense of it. A
Cuban-Mexican born in Mexico City, Yareli received her BA in Political Science
and her MFA in Theatre at the University of California, San Diego.
Christopher Maleki (Hosain/ Tehran flashback)
Christopher Maleki is a native of Glendale, California. He started acting
professionally at the young age of 12. He always knew what he wanted to do.
Christopher started working continuously on Teen magazine phase and several
series. Then, on September 20th 1996, Christopher was working on the TV show
Sliders with fellow actor Ken Steadman when tragedy struck. Ken was the driver
of a dune buggy with cameras mounted on; Christopher was a passenger when
the vehicle flipped over killing Ken and seriously injuring Christopher. It was a
life-changing experience. Christopher decided to take a couple of years off and
see the world. Since his return, Christopher has enjoyed much success taking
roles on popular series such as Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five and recurring,
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Christopher Maleki is a native of Glendale, California. He started acting
professionally at the young age of 12. He always knew what he wanted to do.
Christopher started working continuously on Teen magazine phase and several
series. Then, on September 20th 1996, Christopher was working on the TV show
Sliders with fellow actor Ken Steadman when tragedy struck. Ken was the driver
of a dune buggy with cameras mounted on; Christopher was a passenger when
the vehicle flipped over killing Ken and seriously injuring Christopher. It was a
life-changing experience. Christopher decided to take a couple of years off and
see the world. Since his return, Christopher has enjoyed much success taking
roles on popular series such as Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five and recurring
roles on Santa Barbara, The Bold and the Beautiful, Pacific Blue, and Days of
Our Lives.
With many films and episodic TV under his belt, Christopher signed on with the
soap Passions, where he played the lovable bad boy “Spike Lester”. While
continuing his work on Passions, Christopher took notable roles on hit prime time
shows such as CSI:NY, and the feature film Mcbride: It’s Murder, Madam
opposite John Larroquette. The increase in film and television roles during this
time allowed Christopher to prove his diversity and talent as an actor. After
several seasons on Passions, Christopher left to pursue other work, which has
included roles on the Starz series Crash and the CBS mega hit, CSI.
Mel Fair (Dr. Richards)
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Mel Fair has more than 25-years of award-winning experience in the
entertainment industry. He has appeared in numerous feature films, including
Beyond Paradise, Ragamuffin, Johnny, The Ultimate Gift, Atlas Shrugged: Parts
I, II & III as well as J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s, Super 8, among others.
Mel has made guest appearances on more than 45 episodic and daytime
television shows including, True Blood, Body of Proof, Rizzoli & Isles, CSI:
Miami, CSI: NY, Desperate Housewives, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The
Defenders to name a few. Mel has also played recurring roles on Justified,
Weeds, Revenge, Scandal, Chuck, Big Love, Dirty Sexy Money, The O.C., and
many other hit shows on the small screen.
In addition, Mel has lent his voice-over talents to numerous video games,
including Call of Duty: World at War, Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight,
Shrek 2 as the Magic Mirror, Everquest II and Tribes Vengeance, among others.
He has also been heard on television and radio spots for Disney Live! Rockin
Road Show, U.S. Cellular, Outback Steakhouse, Kawasaki, Polaris snowmobiles,
KFC, and Golden Corral Restaurants, as well as numerous other voice-over
projects nationwide and around the globe.
Kira Soltanovich (Kira/Standup comedian)
Born in the former Soviet Union, and raised by immigrant parents in San
Francisco, Kira Soltanovich has plenty to laugh about. “Like most kids, my
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parents took me to Disneyland… not for the rides, for the lines. They assumed
there’d be food at the end of them.”
A staple on the comedy scene, Kira has worked in the entertainment world as a
writer, actor and producer. Her first television option was with New Line
Television for the hybrid comedy, Weren’t You Scott Baio? Her feature film
What’s Your Sign? was optioned with Terra Firma at Universal later that year.
She’s written for Joan Rivers on the TV Land series How’d You Get So Rich?
and for such Disney stars as Selena Gomez, Mitch Musso and Debby Ryan on
the Disney show PrankStars. Most recently, Kira sold a pilot to Disney called
Weekly Squeak, the network’s first clip style promotion show.
Kira is currently writing/producing two scripts for Moscow’s Channel One.You can
catch her on Showtime in the critically acclaimed comedy special Hot Tamales
Live, and in her own half hour comedy special for the Showtime network called
Here Comes Trouble.She’s been a recurring character for seven years on The
Tonight Show with Jay Leno as the voice of “The Photo Booth.”
A Series Regular on the Oxygen and nationally syndicated show, Girls Behaving
Badly, she has also appeared on such shows as PrankStars, Hell’s Kitchen,
Jimmy Kimmel Live and Fresh Baked Videos on Spike. And also, listen for Kira
as the voice of “Carla”, in the animated series, Iggy Cool. You can catch her on
two FOX shows, Red Eye and Reality Binge as a correspondent.
She has shot several pilots this year for Comedy Central, The Food Network,
Lifetime and VH1, including a brand new Celebrity, Sports and Entertainment
pilot called Box Seat with Dennis Rodman and Jose Conseco. Kira has hosted
shows on FOX, E!, and VH1. She headlines clubs and colleges, and tours the
world entertaining troops in USO shows.
Lastly, she has performed in a myriad of comedy competitions and festivals,
including Last Comic Standing, The Cape Town International Comedy Festival,
Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots, and several times at the prestigious Just For
Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.
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Rome Shahdanloo (Zara/Tehran flashback)
Born in Tehran, Iran, Rome Shadanloo came to Los Angeles at the age of 2.
Growing up she lived in a world of imagination which prompted her to pick up her
first paint brush at the age of 4. In High School she was deeply inspired to pursue
acting but decided to attend art school instead. Rome made the difficult decision
to leave art school and finally pursue acting.
She got her first break on How I Met Your Mother and has been working steadily
since.Rome Shadanloo works toward her artistic goals under the alias,
RomeApple. She has had several successful gallery shows and has found a way
to successfully combine both her passions.
In 2012, she was asked to make scary dolls that were used in the psychological
thriller The Cottage in which she also had a supporting role. She continues to
pursue great roles, which inspire her artistically, such as in Beyond Paradise.
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Ali Olomi (Faraz/Tehran flashback)
Ali Olomi is an accomplished actor, independent filmmaker and Union
SAG/AFTRA member working in Hollywood, CA. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan; he
has lived in Germany, India and San Diego, CA. He later moved to Los Angeles
to pursue his acting career. He has worked in Hollywood feature films,
independent films, student Films, TV Series, commercials, voice over and ADR.
He is fluent in five languages: English, Dari, Farsi, Hindi and German. His Lead
Roles in short dramas have garnished him praise at the Cannes International
Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Asian Film Festival, Berkshire Film
Festival, as well as other International film festivals. He recently acted in
InAPPropriate Comedy with Adrien Brody, Rob Schneider, Michelle Rodriguez
and Lindsay Lohan released in theaters on March 22, 2013.
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Filmmakers
Gill Holland, Executive Producer
Spirit Award nominee for Producer of the Year, Gill Holland produced Hurricane
Streets, the first film ever to win 3 prizes at Sundance and has over 95 other films
to his credit, including other Sundance faves FLOW: For Love of Water, Spring
Forward, Loggerheads, Catechism Cataclysm, It Felt Like Love, the FOX sitcom
Greg The Bunny, the Spirit Award winner and first carbon-neutral independent
film Sweetland, Al Gore’s 2008 Reel Current Award winning doc Mountain Top
Removal, SXSW audience prize winner Maidentrip and the Emmy-nominated
doc Dear Jesse. He produced three volumes of cineBLAST! short film
compilations.
He is partner at The Group Entertainment, the KY/NYC management/production
company, and former adjunct professor at NYU Graduate Film School. Gill
worked at the French Film Office and has been on the jury for shorts at
Sundance and selection committee for the Academy Awards, Student Division.
Gill Holland and his wife Augusta were instrumental in turning an economically
depressed and run-down east downtown Louisville area into NuLu – a thriving
arts/design and sustainability district. Holland coined the term NuLu and serves
as President of the NuLu Business Association. 5 years ago, Holland opened
NuLu’s flagship arts center “The Green Building”, the only LEED “Platinum”
commercial building in Kentucky. He is now working on developing Louisville’s
Portland district.
A Spirit Award nominee for film producer of the year (the Oscars for independent
films), Gill has worked on several movies, many award winners and Sundance
Film Festival favorites. Gill is a former lawyer, runs sonaBLAST! Records (Ben
Sollee is on the label), has written children’s books and published others. He is
involved on many cultural boards (incl. Fund for the Arts, Speed Art Museum,
Actors Theatre, Olmsted Parks Conservancy, KY Film Commission, Forecastle
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Festival) and was named 2009’s Person of the Year by Louisville Magazine. He
has three children, Cora, Owsley and Lilla.
J.J. Alani, Writer / Producer / Director
Based in New York, J. J. Alani aka J. Jonroy Alani also works in Los Angeles and
Paris. A Directors Guild of America (DGA) member and a Writers Guild of
America (WGA) member in New York since 1996, Alani is the
Writer/Producer/Director of the theatrically released independent, critically
acclaimed, and controversial feature David & Layla.
His new feature Beyond Paradise is one of the most anticipated independent
movies of the year. The film stars Francia Raisa, Ryan Guzman, Daphne Zuniga,
Misha Crosby, Max Amini, Rachel Spencer, and Yareli Arizmendi.
In the Official Selection at 28 international film festivals, David & Layla won 8
Awards, including Mon Amour Festival’s Grand Prix du Public against La Vie en
Rose, 2 Days in Paris, and Lady Chatterley. He dedicated this film to his family
members murdered in a genocide campaign.
David & Layla received critical praise in the New York Times, Variety,
Washington Post, LA Times, etc., and from the Nobel Laureate, Oscar nominee
Screenwriter and Playwright, Harold Pinter: “A bold, politically relevant film
against impossible odds.”
Alani is in development on a new independent movie entitled Amorous, and two
epic films: the 5000-year-old epic historical allegory “Gilgamesh” as two
screenplays: Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh: In Search of Immortality.
He studied at The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and at the USC
School of Cinematic Arts (Advanced Screenwriting Practicum) in Los Angeles,
1985-1989.
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Hollywood’s largest studio, Warner Bros, as well as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon,
Vudu, Turner Classic Movies, etc., continue the digital distribution of David &
Layla.
Its Musical score is on 60+ international music sites, including iTunes.
Following Creative Photography studies at the London Camden School of Arts,
Alani worked briefly as a Fashion Photographer in London and Paris.
In Paris, he studied at the Sorbonne University, 1990-1994, receiving a “Diplôme
Supérieur de Langue et Civilisation Françaises.”
In New York, he coached graduate students at the Graduate Department of New
York University (NYU Film School- Tisch School of the Arts) on their final thesis
projects, 1996-2000.
He served as an Acting Coach at the Circle in the Square Broadway Theater
School in New York where his then wife, Olga Alexandrova aka “Layla
Alexander”, was studying, 1995-1999.
Earlier in England, he had received a (B.Sc.) First Class Honors in Science and
Sociology at Leicester University, (D.I.C.) Diploma of London Imperial
College, and Masters Degree (M.S.) in Cybernetics at London University.
In London, as a Marketing Executive with ICL, he worked with the creators of the
Monty Python London TV series, while at night he studied ‘Acting, Speech, and
Movement’ at the “City Lit”- the City Literary Institute.
A member of The Royal Photographic Society (U.K), Alani is an Art and World
Music collector.
He is the founder of “Human Rights For All – No Exceptions!” featured on
Facebook, which focuses on female empowerment and equal human rights for
oppressed women and all minorities of the world, including gays and lesbians.
A dual American and British citizen, J.J. Alani was born in the Middle East. He is
fluent in English and French, some Portuguese, and he speaks and understands
a few Middle Eastern languages. He has lived and worked in Paris, London, Rio
de Janeiro, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.
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Matthew Lessall, Casting Director
Born in London but raised in New York, casting director Matthew Lessall has
made a solid name for himself, chalking up an impressive list of casting
accreditations, memberships, titles and casting films that result in award wins
and official selections at the World’s most prestigious film festivals. He studied at
DePauw University. Matthew’s casting experience is diverse, casting major
network series as well as having held the position of Director of Feature Film
Casting at 20th Century Fox and on the indie front, as in-house casting
consultant for the Fox Searchlab Writer/Director Program.
Matthew’s credits include Sundance Film Festival standouts, Rocket Science,
Mean Creek, as well as the NetFlix Find Your Voice winner Almost Kings. In
2011, he chose to join the tech revolution and became go-to casting for Warner
Premiere; Warner Bros. new media arm, casting the mega-successful web
series, Mortal Kombat, follow up Mortal Kombat 2 and season 2 of Wonderland
Sound & Vision’s Aim High. His Bait 3D (a/k/a “Shark”), garnered an Official
Entry at the 2012 Venice Film Festival and this same year also saw him with two
films at the inaugural edition of Paris’ Champ d’Elysees Film Festival, including
the Liam Neeson starrer After Life.
After University, Matthew then lived for several years in London, before making
Los Angeles his home. His dual nationality (USA/UK) affords him the broad
vision imperative to cast in today’s global market. He has cast productions and
co-productions for Canada, Germany, Holland, Italy and Mexico. Matthew is a
member of BAFTA and a board member of the Casting Society of America. He is
currently based in Los Angeles.
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Sandra Valde-Hansen, Cinematographer / Associate Producer
Sandra got her start in documentary, working for an Emmy-award winning
documentary cameraman, Tony Foresta, who taught her beauty of the image is
found in simplicity.
After seven years as a camera assistant and operator, Sandra Valde decided it
was time to pursue a full-time career as a cinematographer. She applied to the
prestigious American Film Institute and was accepted into their MFA program in
Cinematography. While at AFI, Sandra honed her craft in the art of visual
storytelling, learning from the master cinematographers and deepening her
knowledge of light and composition. She has had the invaluable opportunity to
mentor under Stephen Lighthill, ASC, Steven Poster, ASC, Larry Parker, and
Alan Caso, ASC.
Since graduating from AFI, Sandra has been able to take her passion of
cinematography throughout all mediums of storytelling.
Sandra shot the last season of the very popular MUN 2 Reality show, The Chicas
Project, which brought Sandra across the country. Her camera has allowed her
to be part of the political and socially conscience filmmaking of Brave New Films.
She is looking forward to seeing her work in the Spring launch of Street
Knowledge 2 College launched by PBS.org. She has been able to travel the
world shooting in such locations as Paris for the relaunched MTV House of Style
and Mexico for PBS Voices “Tales of the Masked Men” co-produced by Latino
Public Broadcast and ITVS. Some of her other clients include Al Jazeera
America, USC, MAX Films, TED, and Mastercard.
Sandra shot indie guru, Gregg Araki’s feature Kaboom that was an official
selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, 2011 Sundance Film Festival and
released in 40 cities around the US under IFC. Sandra’s narrative work has been
seen in festivals spanning across the world from SXSW to Cannes. Her films Fly
Away, Acts of Mercy, and Christmas in Compton are in limited release via VOD.
Sandra continues to shoot powerful stories, as in Beyond Paradise in the realm
of independent narrative and documentary.
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Sandra is also on faculty for the American Film Institute Cinematography
Department.
Jennifer Nash, Music Supervisor/ Music Editor / Associate Producer
Jennifer Nash began her musical journey at age 12, quickly becoming more and
more entranced by playing the piano and singing. As a teen she developed an
interest in how film scores can cast a spell over an audience and decided to
pursue a career in film music. Jennifer moved to Los Angeles and initially worked
as a post-production mix tech before taking on the world of film music as a Music
Editor. Her first projects were The Rich Man’s Wife starring Halle Berry on which
she was the assistant to music editor Abbey Treeloggen. She soon moved into
music editing on major motion pictures including ANTZ, Lords Of Dogtown, Pearl
Harbor, In The Valley Of Elah, R.E.D., and The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.
Jennifer has also written and produced two albums of original music as well as
performing and touring with her band. Given such a diverse career over the last
18 years, Jennifer naturally gravitated towards Music Supervision and began
supervising independent films, including American Violet and Crusade in Jeans.
Both films gave Jennifer an opportunity to create original music with her
husband, composer and music educator Dan Ostermann.
Beyond Paradise has given Jennifer a great opportunity to expand her skills as
Music Supervisor as the film features on-camera musical performances which
required her guidance during pre-production, production, and post production.
The Beyond Paradise process also introduced Jennifer to the classical music and
poetry of Persia as she worked closely with the director to combine European
and Iranian classical music to seamlessly dramatize and tell this cross-cultural
love story.
Jennifer worked with the director to select music for the characters to perform
and dance to, as well as commission original material for the lead character to
sing and play (who is a songwriter/pianist like Jennifer herself). She supervised
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the technical aspects of on-set musical performances and continued into postproduction to select, record, edit, and pre-mix music for the edited footage.
Beyond Paradise is Jennifer’s first credit as Associate Producer.
Mark Kilian, Music Composer
South African born Mark Kilian has had a successful and eclectic film scoring
career since moving to Los Angeles in 1994. He is most known for his ethnic
flavored scores like the Oscar winning Tsotsi, Traitor and Rendition.
His most recent scores include Pitch Perfect, Bless Me, Ultima, John Carpenter’s
The Ward and HBO’s 41, a portrait of George H.W. Bush. His TV series work
includes Don’t Trust The B— in Apartment 23, Body of Proof andDaybreak.
He has also written music for many TV commercials for Apple, Toyota,
Budweiser and American Express. He has 3 albums out under the name ‘The
Gravy Street’ which has received airplay in Los Angeles.
J.J. Alani, Production Designer / Art Director/ Music Consultant
See bio above of the Writer/Producer/Director J.J. Alani.
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Neguine Sanani, Editor
Neguine holds a B.F.A. from the USC Film and Television department in Filmic
Writing, and an M.F.A. from AFI in Directing. As a director, she preferred to write
with the camera, sculpting the story both as she filmed, and in the edit room. This
talent led her to editing. Early on in her career as an editor, she worked with
directors Tamra Davis and George Huang through the IFP program Project
Involve, and soon after contributed to the editing of several Lionsgate
productions.
Neguine edited the IMAX film Hurricane on the Bayou, which documents the
disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Other feature film work includes The Grey, which won the American Jury Prize at
the Santa Barbara Film Festival; and Flip the Script and Love and Other 4-Letter
Words, both of which premiered on the B.E.T. Network. Her film, Bloodworth,
starring Kris Kristofferson, who wrote an original song for the film, had its
theatrical release May of 2011.
Her latest film, The Ghost and the Whale, directed by Anthony and James
Gaudioso will hit the festival circuit in 2014.
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Phillip J. Bartell, Editor
Phillip J. Bartell has worked with many established directors, serving as
additional editor on Curtis Hanson’s In Her Shoes, Bill Paxton’s The Greatest
Game Ever Played, and the Russo Brothers’ Steven Soderbergh and George
Clooney produced, Welcome to Collinwood.
He edited the 2010 Sundance Award winner Undertow (Contracorriente), and
has also edited Robert Cary’s Ira & Abby and Save Me, Q. Allan Brocka’s Boy
Culture, Patrik Ian Polk’s TV series Noah’s Arc, and Tribeca Film Festival winner,
Spork. Feature documentary I Am Divine recently premiered at South By
Southwest, and feature film G.B.F. premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Fest.
Bartell has worked in editorial departments on films by Spike Jonze, Gus Van
Sant, Robert Altman, Sean Penn, Diane Keaton, Vadim Perelman, and Adam
Shankman.
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Poems
Rumi and Lorca's poetry in BEYOND PARADISE in sequence
“When nothing existed, Love existed; and
when nothing shall remain, Love shall remain;
It is the first and the last.”
- Princess Shéhérazade, One Thousand and One Nights.
Ancient Persian collection of tales “Hazar Afsan.”
This poem is recited in Farsi at the wedding by a Persian female voice:
“They say that paradise is in high heaven
Where angels and elixirs await.
Let’s now enjoy wine and love
In sweet anticipation of our destiny.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet.
Shahrzad sings this Rumi song in Farsi as she plays the piano for Elana, hoping
she would become her piano teacher.
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“Advice does not help Lovers!
They are not a mountain stream
you could stop by building a dam across.
A scholar does not understand what a drunk is feeling!
Don’t try to guess or figure out what Lovers drunk with love might do next.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet.
On the beach, Shahrzad leaves Sebastian saying “I must go back…” Sebastian
manages to pull her back by surprising her with this poem:
“In your eyes I see the heavens.
In the heavens I see your eyes.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet.
Sebastian throws his nicest bird Kite “Parakita” into Shahrzad’s garden.
Shahrzad goes to the Parakita, stuck in the rose bushes. Making cooing sounds,
she retrieves Parakita and hands her to Sebastian, their hands tenderly touch.
They whisper, trying not to be heard by Parisa, the mother-in-law:
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SHAHRZAD You must train her (the bird kite) to behave.
SEBASTIAN (playfully)
“When Love steals into your alley,
he has no choice.
He longs to kiss every lock of your hair,
he has no choice...”
When Shahrzad leaves, he blocks her way, holding a red rose:
SEBASTIAN
“You are the Rose. I’m the Thorn.
Don’t show your beauty without me.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet
By the ocean waves, Sebastian recites this poem in Spanish to Shahrzad as he
teaches her how to fly a kite, which happens to be in green color.
“Verde que te quiero verde.”
“Green, how I love you green.”
- Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet 1898 –1936
Sebastian secretly throws a Red Paper Plane to Shahrzad who’s as usual
reading her Rumi’s book in the garden. Shahrzad quickly picks up the kite, and
hides it from her approaching husband Sean. Later at night, she secretly reads
what’s written inside the rose-red plane. She smiles and whispers to herself
“Rumi!”
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“I slept well last night,
But I woke up drunk.
I must have dreamt about you.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet
On stage, Shahrzad’s husband Sean is performing his biggest Standup Comedy
show. His young brother Ray plays his guitar wildly. Shahrzad laughs with the
audience- all loving Sean’s sexy dancing to the rhythm of Ray’s guitar. Her
iPhone vibrates. She reads: INSERT:
“Like the shadow of a rose,
I must live close to the Rose.
If I were separated from You,
I would turn entirely to Thorn.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet.
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Sebastian intercepts Shahrzad in the hallway of the Theater where her husband
is performing the largest Stand up Comedy of his career. Shahrzad anxiously
whispers: “I thought you were joking!” Sebastian playfully replies:
“O Rose, the Thorn has no choice.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet.
Believing Sebastian is leaving her for good, Shahrzad sadly sings in Farsi this
song solo at her piano, accompanied by the sweet chirping of her two red birds in
a cage by her piano.
“Ruler of my Heart,
Wherever you go,
Don’t go without me.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet
Towards the end of this tragic, cross-cultural love story, Shahrzad sings this
Rumi song in Farsi to herself on her way to drown herself in the ocean.
“In the slaughterhouse of Love,
they only kill the best, not the weak.
Don’t run away from such dying.
Whoever is not killed for Love is dead meat.”
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet
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At sunset, after Sebastian saves her from drowning herself to death, Shahrzad
and Sebastian sit by the ocean waves. As her dress is drying in the breeze in the
background, she reads these two poems to Sebastian, from Lorca’s book of
poems that he had gifted to her.
“Green wind. Green branches.
She dreams on her balcony,
with eyes of cold silver.
Green, how I love you green.”
Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet 1898 –1936
“The Rose was not looking for wisdom,
or for shadow: the edge of flesh and dreaming...”
Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet 1898 –1936
Ending spiritual poem “Cycle of Life” is sang by the Actress / Singer Fereshteh
Dehghani.
“I died as a mineral, I grew as a plant
I died as a plant, I arose as an animal
I died as an animal, I returned as a human
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
When I die as a human, I shall fly with the angels
When I leave my angel-soul, I soar higher
I shall reach the ecstasy of the Divine
All shall perish, except the Divine.
- Rumi, 13th C. Persian poet.
********
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