Experiencing Interruptions?

Eternal Presence: Journey into the Mind

A short film about existential anxiety and how to escape it.

The film follows a girl born during the Iranian 1979 revolution, growing up amidst war and global events, leading to her breakdown and subsequent healing through self-care.

Asal Andarzipour plays two characters: initially, a mother who becomes pregnant by accident. The red room symbolizes the womb, where the unborn child is already exposed to the external anxieties of the revolution. After birth, she portrays the child growing up against the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war and other global events, culminating in a mental breakdown after the downing of flight #PS752. The film then depicts her path to recovery.

  • Behdad Esfahbod
    Director
  • Behdad Esfahbod
    Writer
  • Behdad Esfahbod
    Producer
  • Asal Andarzipour
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Behdad Esfahbod

Behdad Esfahbod is an Iranian-Canadian Software Engineer prominently known for his work on Open Source projects. In his spare time, he is interested in photography and film-making.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In Januarly 2020 on a family visit to Iran I was arrested and psychlogycally tortured by the IRGC for a week and released on the condition to spy for them. I made this public six months later, but this ordeal cost me a full mental breakdown. I turned to art to help myself. This is what came out of it. A recursive, COVID quarantine, home cellphone-filmed story.

My visit and arrest coincided with the Iranian guards shooting down the Ukrainian passenger flight #PS752. So the film climaxes around that event, because this is the universal story of a generation, not just my story.

The decision to cast a female actor, Asal Andarzipour, was influenced by my personal struggle with gender identity during the time of production. This casting choice adds another layer of depth to the film's exploration of identity and self-discovery.

A 5.1 surround sound mix of the film is available upon request.