TV Documentary

Shomal
The Riviera of the Mullahs

A film by Stefan Tolz
distribution /contact

Filmpunkt GmbH

Written and directed by
Stefan Tolz

Director Assistant
Mahshad Fattahi Tari

Camera
Dieter Stürmer

Sound
Tschekideh Schahabian

Sound Mix
Peter Gorski

Editor
Gerhard Schabel

Music
Rainer Fabich
Googoosh

Production manager
Markus Breimaier
Holger Koop

Co -production
SWR/ ARTE

Commissioning editors
Ulrike Becker SWR
Gudrun Hanke-El Ghomri
Madeleine Avramoussis
© 2003 /45 or 53 min / Digi Beta / 16:9 / stereo

Shomal – The Riviera of the Mullahs

How often does one have the opportunity to sit amongst a group of young and privileged Iranian students, in a resort hotel on the Caspian Sea – chain-smoking, listening to the load thumping of house music on a weekend up from Tehran. The head-scarf “slips” occasionally and we see the familiar streaks of bleach on dark hair, pierced ears and a layer of make-up. Dark circles under their eyes from a party late last night - yet a conversation that is a telling example of the state of the country in which they happen to live today. Iran. Where 65% of the population is aged 25 and younger – many of them anxious to know if they will ever have a voice in the fate of their country and, if so, which tone would it actually take?

Rare is the chance to see beyond the news into that which is the personal experience of Iran today. An opportunity to do so, in times like these, is invaluable.
German documentary filmmaker Stefan Tolz captures a very real experience through an assortment of modern-day Iranians, who live within, or travel to, their beloved beaches, towns and hills that is “Shomal”. A region that has encountered much change from the grandeur of its past as a booming Riviera resort to its abundant supply of caviar, rice, and tea. And from the people who have vacationed in Shomal over the years, to those whose livelihoods depend upon its resources, we hear stories that carefully recall its colorful past, contrasting the “golden years” with today’s forbidding rules of Islam. Through their words we discover what the last 25 years, more or less, have meant to the average Iranian, whether educated, working on the sea/land, or simply a mother who wants her daughters to be a bit more upfront about the fact that they too would like to wear bikinis on the beach. What Iran is today.  And what it might be tomorrow