Five Senses of Art

The film goes on a picturesque journey across Iran and searches for people who use their five senses for creating art.

From a small village in the very northern part of Iran to a southern island, the film takes us to seven different cities and shows the unique use of each human sense to creating “things”, that are beyond our basic needs.

This short documentary is divided into five segments: Smell, Taste, Sound, Touch and Sight; and depicts the art blended with culture, religion, beliefs and traditions of Iranian people.

  • Hesam Dehghani
    Director
  • Hesam Dehghani
    Producer
  • Shahriyar Kavoosi
    Cinematographer
  • Hesam Dehghani
    Editor
  • S. M. Neamatzadeh
    Production Manager
  • Mehdi Aroom
    Production Supervisor
  • Ehsan Ferdosi
    Music
  • Foad Tohidi
    Music
  • Mina Mehrizi
    Music
  • Siavash Pourkhalili
    Colorist
  • Salman Ebrahimi
    Camera Assistant
  • Persian Magic Art Group
    Production Company
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Art, Culture, anthropology
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 14, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Country of Filming:
    Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Language:
    Persian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Moab International Film Festival
    Moab
    United States
    November 20, 2015
    World Premiere
  • Zero Plus International Film Festival
    Tyumen
    Russian Federation
    December 1, 2015
    Russian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • CMS International Film Festival
    Lucknow
    India
    April 10, 2016
    Indian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Jacksonville International Documentary Film Festival
    Jacksonville
    United States
    April 30, 2016
    East Coast Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Riga International Tourism Film Festival
    Riga
    Latvia
    April 30, 2016
    European Premiere
    AWARD: BEST NEWCOMER
  • Viva International Film Festival
    Sarajevo
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    June 1, 2016
    Official Selection
  • The 3rd Baku International Tourism Film Festival
    Baku
    Azerbaijan
    July 11, 2016
    Official Selection
  • Culture Unplugged International Film Festival
    Bali
    Indonesia
    July 21, 2016
    Official Selection
  • Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco
    San Fransisco
    United States
    August 15, 2016
    SEMI-FINALIST
  • Grand IndieWise Convention
    Miami, FL
    United States
    September 10, 2016
    FINALIST
  • Handmade Doc Fest

    Italy
    August 7, 2017
    Official Selection
  • Zagreb TourFilm Festival
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    September 13, 2017
    Official Selection
  • InShort Film Festival
    Lagos
    Nigeria
    December 27, 2018
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Gonella Productions
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Video on Demand, Pay Per View, Airline, Video / Disc, Paid TV
Director Biography - Hesam Dehghani

Hesam Dehghani was born on September 17, 1977 in Tehran, as the first child of a physics teacher father and a history teacher mother. As a young boy, he became intrigued with playing the violin.

He attended “Iran University of Science and Technology” in 1995 and studied computer engineering. He made his first short film, “The Incredible Story of the Computer Campus” (2000), for the university's Film Center. He directed 3 more shorts for this center, all of them were officially selected by various national and international film festivals.

He learned the basics of screenplay writing and filmmaking from his neighbor, Ebrahim Hatamikia while tutoring him computers from 1998 to 2001. After that, he attended training courses, including “Techniques of Non-Linear Editing” in Harris Company's head office in Bracknell, United Kingdom in 2003.

After directing a number of short films with computer generated animations and visual effects, ,he became a permanent member of ASIFA (Association Internationale de Film d'Animation) in 2002 and a member of Young Cineast House' Directors Guild in 2003. Hesam is also an official member of Iran’s Cinema House.

Hesam founded “Persian Magic Art Group” in 2001 and he is the manager and film director of the group since then. Persian Magic has produced several successful independent short films and documentaries.

His short film “One Damn Degree” (2010) received international attention and was bought by a film distribution company based in Hollywood.

Since 2011, he participated in many international projects and worked with reputable film production companies around the world, including companies based in USA, Canada, Singapore and France.

Hesam is a Lead Producer and Group Captain in CollabFeature, the award winning, Guinness world record holder team of international independent filmmakers. The team’s second feature film, “Train Station” will be released in 2015.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Whenever I see a piece of art, I start thinking what made the artist to create it? Was there any urge?

We all have basic needs; needs like food, water, sleep, clothes and… . While we can easily drink the fresh water and satisfy our body needs, there are artists who add flavors to water and make this very simple experience a pleasant and enjoyable one.

Artists, sometimes ordinary people, work WITH their five human senses FOR our human senses. They make us enjoy our lives by FEELING their artwork. They create objects and make “things” that are not among our basic needs; but our soul needs them because they give us the sweet feeling of calmness.

On a journey to different parts of Iran, I found artworks which were created by and for each sense: Smell, Taste, Sound, Touch and Sight. Since the art always blends with culture, religion, beliefs and traditions, it made the journey even more amazing.

I saw the people who were cooking a special dish for religious purpose. How did they know mixing rice with those materials ends with such a delicious food? Isn’t it art?

I simply divided the film into five separate segments, each for one sense, and each about 4 minutes. During the edit, I found that the picture is communicative enough and there’s no need to use any dialogue or narration.

No matter what it is and who creates it, the important thing is that each artwork is made to serve one of our senses, and it is far beyond our basic needs.