The Cannes Film Festival’s ACID sidebar, a prestigious platform dedicated to championing independent and audacious cinematic voices, recently unveiled Into the Jaws of the Ogre, the feature film debut from Iranian-French director Mahsa Karampour. Co-written with Maya Haffar, this documentary-road movie offers a deeply personal yet universally resonant exploration of displacement, identity, and the enduring bonds of family amidst profound geopolitical upheaval. Premiering on Thursday, May 14, the film takes audiences on an emotionally charged, music-tinged cinematic journey, bridging the geographical and temporal divides between Iran and the United States, past and present, while incorporating rare, clandestinely shot footage from Iran.
The narrative centers on Karampour and her brother, Siavash, whose lives have taken vastly different paths since leaving their native Iran. Mahsa has forged a new identity in France, becoming a French citizen and honing her craft in cinema, while Siavash has sought a new beginning in the United States, on the cusp of American naturalization. Their divergent experiences serve as a poignant microcosm for the broader saga of millions of displaced and exiled individuals worldwide, particularly those from Iran, navigating complex identities and searching for common ground in a fragmented world.
A Personal Odyssey into Universal Themes of Exile
Director Mahsa Karampour articulates the core motivation behind her ambitious project in the film’s synopsis: “I can’t quite grasp the adventurous life of my brother Siavash, so far from my own. While I have just become French and he is about to become American, far from our native Iran, we are searching for common ground.” This quest for connection forms the emotional backbone of the film, transforming a family story into a powerful commentary on the modern condition of exile. The film intricately weaves together discussions, struggles, hopes, and dreams, inviting viewers into the intimate world of the siblings as they grapple with their past and present.
Pauline Ginot, ACID’s general delegate, highlights the film’s critical significance, describing it as "a film that makes us reflect on what happens to these young people from Tehran’s punk underground scene, once in exile. Through this story, familiar from The Yellow Dogs, the film explores another one, a more intimate one: the experience of exile — idealized, yet rarely acknowledged in the face of the hardships of exile.” Ginot’s statement underscores the dual narrative at play: the public perception of exile, often romanticized, versus its raw, unvarnished reality.
The Shadow and Legacy of The Yellow Dogs
A crucial element of Into the Jaws of the Ogre is its connection to Siavash’s past as a member of The Yellow Dogs, an Iranian indie rock band that gained international recognition. The band was famously featured in Bahman Ghobadi’s critically acclaimed 2009 docu-drama No One Knows About Persian Cats, a film that vividly depicted Tehran’s burgeoning underground music scene and won the special jury prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. The Yellow Dogs, like many other artists in Iran, operated outside the confines of the state-sanctioned cultural apparatus, often risking arrest and censorship to pursue their artistic passions. Their music became a symbol of youthful defiance and a yearning for freedom of expression in a society where such liberties were severely curtailed.
Tragically, the band’s story took a devastating turn in 2013 when three members and an associate were killed in a murder-suicide incident in Brooklyn, New York. This event sent shockwaves through the Iranian diaspora and the global music community, highlighting the profound pressures and vulnerabilities faced by exiled artists. The tragedy deeply affected Mahsa Karampour, coming shortly after the passing of her father in 2012. These personal losses compounded a growing sense of a vanishing world, fueling her determination to create this film. "I felt like my world was vanishing," Karampour recounted in an interview. "My friends left Iran, and I couldn’t hear the voices that I wanted to hear anymore. I felt we were a generation that wanted to reconstruct our country and wanted to have our voices heard. With all [that] vanishing, I had the huge anguish of being a passive spectator of a world that was disappearing. So I wanted to [set] an act against this disappearance."
The film thus serves as an act of remembrance and resistance, giving voice to those who have been silenced or whose stories have faded into obscurity. Karampour’s decision to follow her brother’s journey to the U.S. and document his life as an exiled musician was driven by a desire to understand "what happens to us after we leave our country," and to illuminate the experiences of "so many talented people who went abroad" with hopes of returning, only to find themselves unable to due to political or financial obstacles.
An Eighteen-Year Creative Journey
The production of Into the Jaws of the Ogre has been a monumental undertaking, spanning nearly two decades. Karampour began shooting the very first footage in 2007 or 2008, driven by a desire to maintain a connection with Iranian society and tell its musical stories. "Music has been something really important in my life," she explained, citing her classical violin training and experiences with forbidden music in Iran. The initial impulse was to document her brother’s emerging musical activity in Iran.
However, Siavash’s relocation to the United States temporarily halted the project. Karampour attempted to find similar creative energy with other underground Iranian bands in Turkey but found it elusive. It was the confluence of personal tragedies – her father’s death and the Yellow Dogs’ incident – that reignited her commitment to the film. She realized the story had evolved from a simple musical documentary into a deeper exploration of loss, displacement, and the search for identity.
The filmmaking process itself was protracted, with the core production and writing phases beginning around 2018 or 2019. Despite having 56 hours of footage, Karampour notes that 95 percent of her time was dedicated to writing, followed by extensive rewriting during the editing phase, which commenced in 2023. The film was produced by Mathilde Raczymow of Les films du Bilboquet, with essential support from institutions such as France’s CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée) and Institut Français. International sales are being handled by Rediance. The low-budget nature of the film, Karampour believes, organically shaped its aesthetic, lending a raw, authentic feel that resonates with the underground music and clandestine filming it portrays. "It was something fragile, and there were so many ellipses, missing parts," she reflected. "I had to make the film with these missing parts, unspoken stuff and unfinished stuff. And I realized the film is about all these unfinished things — stories, songs, mourning — and the bond with my brother is an image, a theme, in the film that was very precious."
The Symbolism of "Ruins" and Resistance
A recurring motif in Into the Jaws of the Ogre is the imagery of "ruins," places where the siblings reconnect and reflect. These are not merely sites of decay but fertile ground for artistic expression and introspection. Karampour explains that such ruins in Tehran were historically places where her brother found inspiration and where forbidden rock concerts were held, away from the watchful eyes of authorities.
This concept of "ruins" is deeply rooted in Persian mythology and mysticism, particularly through the term "kharabat." Karampour describes "kharabat" as "a ruin that is fertile. It is a destroyed place in which you drink wine and connect to the divine. It is also a place in which you do controversial things. It is destroyed, and yet it is fertile, so it is a kind of connection to the past." This powerful symbolism extends beyond the personal narrative, serving as a metaphor for the contemporary world itself – a world scarred by "all the wars, Trump, Netanyahu and the ayatollahs, and all the stuff that we have in Europe, ecological problems, economic problems and young generations who have no hope." Yet, within these ruins, Karampour finds a resilient optimism: "Everybody thinks that the Third World War will come, so this is a ruined world. But things are not hopeless." The film, through its intimate exploration of personal struggle, posits that hope can be cultivated even amidst destruction.
Navigating Personal and Political Landscapes
Karampour intentionally crafts a narrative that, while intensely personal, touches upon universal human experiences. Her aim was to tell a "very special Iranian story" that would nevertheless feel familiar to a global audience, particularly through the lens of a sister-brother relationship. Beyond the familial bond, the film subtly addresses the political context of Iran, showcasing the resilience of its people and their desire for normalcy, including the pursuit of music despite governmental restrictions. "I just wanted people to see a story at the same level, showing that we share the same codes," she elaborated. The film challenges prevalent external perceptions of Iran, which often focus solely on the political regime, by highlighting the vibrant cultural life and aspirations of its citizens. "I wanted to talk about politics more indirectly. I felt that I could tell a very personal sister and brother story, and people can feel and understand the political context, such as the war, the propaganda, the songs, censorship and everything."
The geopolitical tensions between Iran and the United States, and their profound impact on families like Karampour’s, also feature prominently. A poignant scene in the film, shot recently, directly references the escalating conflict. Karampour filmed this "very last scene last summer" following a particularly "violent experience" for her, personally, during the first episode of war in June. She describes fleeing to Armenia to retrieve her mother, bringing her to France, and then being joined by her brother from the United States – a desperate family reunion on a French island. This gathering underscored the enduring threat of war and the imperative for connection.
In this powerful sequence, Karampour films her brother swimming, a symbolic act that she initially envisioned taking place in the Persian Gulf but ultimately captures in the Mediterranean Sea. This geographical shift signifies that the narratives of displacement and resilience transcend specific borders. "We don’t need to be in a specific geography to tell our stories," she affirmed. For Karampour, the act of filmmaking, of telling these "little stories," and of creating music together becomes a potent form of resistance and a means of "keeping the Iranian story alive."
Broader Implications and Cultural Significance
Into the Jaws of the Ogre arrives at a crucial moment, offering a nuanced perspective on the Iranian diaspora, which is estimated to number in the millions globally. This community, particularly its artists and intellectuals, often serves as a vital bridge between cultures, enriching host countries while striving to preserve their heritage. However, they also face unique challenges, including cultural assimilation pressures, the pain of separation, and the complex political dynamics that often dictate their ability to return or connect with their homeland.
The film’s premiere at ACID, a section of the Cannes Film Festival known for its commitment to auteur cinema and diverse narratives, further amplifies its message. ACID’s mission to highlight "films that dare" and to foster new voices aligns perfectly with Karampour’s unflinching and intimate portrayal of exile. Its inclusion alongside other significant independent works underscores the growing recognition of Iranian cinematic talent, even from those operating outside the official state-supported film industry.
By documenting the intricate dance between personal history and geopolitical forces, Into the Jaws of the Ogre contributes significantly to the global discourse on migration, identity, and the enduring power of art as a form of resistance. It is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a powerful reminder that even in a world seemingly consumed by ruins, there remains fertile ground for hope, connection, and creation. Mahsa Karampour’s debut is not just a film; it is a vital act of remembrance, a call for empathy, and a profound declaration that individual stories hold the key to understanding our shared humanity in an increasingly fractured world.
