Private Project

Qashqai Female Voices - Algorhythms of Cultures - Iran

This short documentary revolves around the tradition of weaving carpets (ghali), as a strong symbol of nomadic cultures that connect various ethnicities in the east and west, through different countries and regions. Among these, Persian carpets are one of the most famous and valued as an icon of colorful designs, sophisticated ornaments, and highly skilled crafts. And although their production has migrated more and more towards the cities, restructured into market-oriented companies, there are still a few traditional female weavers, who are still keeping the complex knowledge and skills of carpet making.

The making of the carpets has been genuinely in the domain of women. While tying the knots singing is an essential part of creating a carpet. The women sing rhythmic songs in harmony with the movements and sounds of their hands, transforming single woolen threads to an ensemble of visual art. The ornaments and symbols in the carpets tell stories about creation myths, ancient knowledge, historical events, worshipping nature or personal stories of the women and their nomadic life.

To explore the relations between music, crafts, and iconography the researchers and filmmakers Yalda Yazdani and Christoph Wieland have documented their encounter with Khadijeh Jokar and Azar Parsai from the Qashqai tribes in their summer pastures in the south of Iran.

  • Yalda Yazdani
    Director
  • Christoph Wieland
    Director
  • Azar Parsai
    Key Cast
  • Khadijeh Jokar
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 11, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Language:
    English, Persian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, HD, Sony Alpha III
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Yalda Yazdani, Christoph Wieland

YALDA YAZDANI

Born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1985
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Yalda Yazdani is an ethnomusicologist and curator. She was born in Iran. Currently, she is working as a research fellow at the University of Siegen, Germany. Since 2009, she has been undertaking various fieldwork research about female vocal songs and music in different regions of Iran. Since 2015, she has been organizing various intercultural projects, documentaries, music workshops, and concerts across Iran and Germany with the aim of creating collaboration bridges between European and middle-eastern musicians and artists. In 2017 and 2018, she founded and curated the festival “Female Foice of Iran" and in 2021 the festival “Female Voice of Afghanistan" in collaboration with Contemporary Opera Berlin. Currently, she has been collaborating with different documentary productions focusing mainly on music and the potential it offers to cross cultural borders. Her primary goal is to find ways to improve the situation of middle-eastern women musicians both in their home country as well as internationally.

www.yaldayazdani.com

CHRISTOPH WIELAND

Born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1985
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Christoph Wieland Blaas studied art history and curatorial practices at Heidelberg and Karlsruhe Universities (Germany). Recently he has started a ph.D. Project on history and theory of photography at Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen (Germany). Since 2012 he has been collaborating as an independent researcher, producer, and curator with various cultural institutions like Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie in Mannheim, Berlin Biennale, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His projects are mainly in the fields of exhibition-making and documentary filmmaking focusing on the intersections of contemporary art, photography, and design. With a strong interest in intercultural projects, he started to collaborate with the Female Voice of Iran festival in 2017 (Contemporary Opera Berlin). In 2018, he co-founded the ongoing research project Algorhythms of Cultures, which is investigating the rhythms and rituals of traditional music, arts, crafts, and everyday life.

www.christophwieland.com

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The main goal of Algorhythms of Culture is to give Iranian women a voice to be heard. Especially Qashqai women, particularly those from marginalized communities at the periphery of Iranian society, continue to preserve a rich heritage of music, crafts, and rituals. These traditions have been passed down through generations and have influenced the sounds and rhythms of both traditional and contemporary music to this day.