Some years ago I was asked by director Niki Padidar to make a miniature of the house of her grandparents in Teheran. The maquette would play a role in her documentary film “All You See”, which is about how people see you when you are new somewhere and what this alienation does with you. She also included her own experiences from 1986, when she left Iran with her parents as a 7-year old girl.
Niki visited my home in Utrecht with a few old family photos, which showed the house of her grandparents. The house itself does not exist anymore. Gradually more photos and even films emerged through her family in Teheran and America. We were able to make an as authentic reconstruction to scale as possible because of her fond memories of the house in question.
“All You See” will premiere as the opening film of The International Documentary Film Amsterdam (IDFA) in Carré Amsterdam on 9 November 2022.