The Day I Became a Woman Interview: Marziyeh Meshkini

Q. How did you become involved in film production? A. After Samira started saying that she wanted to quit school and make movies., my husband Mohsen founded an independent film school. I started studying film at the school too, and worked as the assistant director for Samira's films The Apple and Blackboards and Mohsen's Silence and The Door. For me, The Day I Became A Woman was like my graduation project from the school. (Note: Marziyeh is Mohsen Makhmalbaf's second wife, and the younger sister of his deceased first wife. This makes Mohsen's eldest daughter Samira her niece.) Q. Where did you get the idea for this film? A. Mohsen and I were taking a walk on Kish, the island where the film takes place, and Mohsen told me the story that became the first story in the film. I thought the story fit me well, and decided I wanted to use it for my first film. I thought the story would ring true not just for myself, but for women all through Asia and around the world. There comes a time for every woman when you realize that you're a woman, and that you're different from a man. After that, I started wondering why just being a woman means that you're treated unequally, and that brought about the second and third ideas. The first story isn't really about religion, rather it describes how habits that have become ingrained over time restrict women's freedom. The second story adds men's role to this. The husband tries to restrict his wife's freedom in the name of their people and of God. Q. The ending of the third story can be interpreted in several ways, but is it okay to see it as a happy end? A. I think that the end will seem happy or sad depending on the society to which the viewer belongs, and depending on if women are free in that society. I think it's a happy end. Director's Profile: Born in Tehran in 1969. Has worked as assistant director on productions induding Mohsen Makhmalbaf's The Silence (1998). the short "The Door" in the omnibus Tales of Kish (1999) and Samira Makhmalbaf's The Apple (1997) and BIackboafds (2000). This film marks her debut as a feature film director.