'Wolfgang' Courtesy of IFFR Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Gender-queered acid trip opera, anyone? Interested in an ode to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and silliness? How about a film exploring the experience of Iranian artists in exile? Well, Wolfgang, the minimal-budget feature directorial debut of Tehran-born audiovisual artist Filmsaaz - their real name is Saleh Kashefi, is part of the Bright Future program of the 55th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The movie reimagines the life of 22-year-old Mozart in 1778, when the young musical genius was in exile in Paris, to tell the present-day story of an Iranian artist living in exile in the French capital. "Reeling from his mother's death, Mozart spent his days writing scatalogical [meaning: referring to excrement and bodily functions] music and drowning in libertine excess," notes a synopsis for the film. "Navigating grief, destructive tendencies, and creative expression, the artists' lives swirl together in a time and gender-queering ode to self-transformation." Related Stories Movies 'London' Goes on the Road With a Man Who Encounters Strangers, Courtesy of a Car-Sharing Service (Exclusive Berlin Trailer) Movies In 'Lali,' the First All-Pakistani Film at Berlin, Love Is a Battlefield, and a Man Pretends to Be Possessed to Control His Wife (Exclusive Trailer) Or as the IFFR website notes: "In this genre-defying 'audiovisual opera,' Mozart's life becomes a portal into that of Wolfgang, an Iranian artist navigating similar extremes as he too is exiled in Paris: the city where everyone says his dreams will come true, and praises him for escaping the censorship of his homeland." It describes the film "a moving journey towards self-discovery," with "intricate reflections on making art in political exile." Wolfgang unfolds in overtures and arias that move between colorful, hallucinogenic fever dreams and painterly black-and-white sequences, laced with Filmsaaz's reinterpretations of Mozart's music. Ghazal Shojaei, herself an exiled Iranian actress, stars as Wolfgang, along with Kata and Saeed Mirzaei. THR met Filmsaaz at Rotterdam to discuss Wolfgang, their decision to leave Iran, the current situation in the country, and why Mozart is still surprising people. 'Wolfgang' Filmsaaz has long been a fan of all sorts of music. "I listen to music a lot, every day, and different kinds. And I make music and DJ a lot. Even from a very young age, I listened to a lot of classical music," they recall. "My brother, who is two years older, is a German language teacher. I remember when I was 16, he played me this German choir song [by Mozart]. And I asked: 'Do you know what he's saying?' And my brother explained that he's singing, 'Lick me in the ass'. That was the moment that I started being fascinated by Mozart as this rebel, this punk artist." Filmsaaaz was already making films at that age. "I started imagining making a film about Mozart one day, and especially this side of Mozart," they tell THR. "At the beginning, I had in mind a very realistic and precise, but brutal period film about Mozart." Things and the approach to the movie changed. "I went into exile in 2021 and moved to Paris," Filmsaaz explains. Naturally, their focus shifted to Mozart's time in Paris. "It was never meant to be this directly about being an Iranian artist. But now, the story is really told more like a metaphor and a symbol of being an exile artist," highlights the director. "I feel the film is very Iranian, but not in a journalistic way or in the aesthetic sense of Iranian cinema, which is usually social melodrama that is dialogue-based. But the sentiment of it is Iranian. The film is really about being Iranian, growing up in an oppressed religious context, and becoming full of rage and anger and hate and leaving your country for the hope of finding a better life. So it's really about the Iranian experience." Wolfgang looks to blur the line between Mozart's day and the current time. "I tried to tell more of a timeless story that is not about the Islamic Republic or about the Austrian Prince or Archbishop," shares Filmsaaz. Instead, it's about artistic and other freedoms being restricted by systems of oppression. The creative's father has been arrested and in prison before, and they themselves have faced threats, so there are no plans to return to Iran for now. 'Wolfgang' Of course, Filmsaaz has followed the crackdown on protests back home. "We live in a time of revolution, and there is not much to lose. A lot of people are killed and lose their lives," they say. So, the opportunity to visit home is "the least I could lose." Continues the creative: "I think I'm more useful being here in Europe than being in Iran. I would either be in prison or be depressed, and I could not do wha