From Variety · Marta Balaga · · 1m 10s
No bright future, just a bit of light
Iranian director Ali Asgari refuses to promise better days, and says the small specks are what you hold onto.
In brief
Iranian director Ali Asgari refuses to promise better days, and says the small specks are what you hold onto. When the big hope is gone, the small light is what gets you to the next step. Originally reported by Variety.
A director done with clichés
Ali Asgari has no interest in the usual talk about great things coming. He says it plainly instead of dressing it up.
Hope ran out
In Iran, he says, people no longer keep high hopes for what comes next. The expectation itself has worn away.
“In Iran, we don't have high hopes for the future anymore.”
The waiting that never paid
Years of waiting for good news produced nothing. That long stretch of nothing is what killed the optimism.
“We've been waiting for good news for so many years, and it never came.”
Small specks instead
What he still believes in is tiny: small specks of light, not a bright future. It is a smaller claim, and a sturdier one.
“But I do believe in these small specks of light.”
Enough for one step
The point of the small light is not comfort. It is to see far enough ahead to move forward once more.
“For now, let's just stick to them so that we can take the next step.”
The film carries the title
His film is called 'A Bit of Light', which is exactly the size of hope he is willing to name.
The one thing
When the big hope is gone, the small light is what gets you to the next step.
