00%
Loading...

Zaqqum The Tree Of Hell

  • Running Time
    00:14:58
  • Genre
    Experimental, Short
  • Language
    Persian
  • Completed
    January 10, 2022, Tehran, Iran

There is a tree that Springs out of the bottom of hell, called Zaqqum. The inhabitants of the inferno have to eat the fruits of Zaqqum, which makes their bodies tear apart and release bodily fluids as a punishment. The Short Film pictures the daily battle of life between two Sons of Perdition, Alpha and Omega. They fight together every day to achieve something valuable.

As an avant-garde and experimental Short Film, Zaqqum represents the life and thoughts of the bourgeoisie and working class of Iranian society. The people who work so hard and do anything to achieve a better life, but their beliefs are different from what they are. This inconsistency is the hell they live in and feed on. The short movie was inspired by three famous paintings in art history: Dante and Virgil in Hell by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, At Eternity’s Gate by Vincent van Gogh, and Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich. The film reconstructs these Masterpieces in the critical moments of the characters’ lives. Alpha is a single janitor who sleeps in his car at night. He recreates At Eternity’s Gate in the movie. Omega is a married migrant who works and lives in a building under construction with other workers. He plays The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. They meet each other in an imaginary world, fighting for the vital necessities of life. They will finally revive the painting of Dante and Virgil in Hell together.

 

 

 

Winner for the BEST POSTER at Rome Prisma Film Awards 2022

 

The cast is so minimal. Ali Ghamilouie and Alireza Gheydari are the only actors in the film. The original score is composed by Iranian composer Hadi Farahmand. The music is a mixture of different experimentations and techniques such as combination, distortion, and manipulations of the sound. The traditional kind of Electroacoustic Music and Sound Design, but produced by new technologies. The soundtrack, with its aggressive and bizarre nature, reinforces the antagonistic area of the film. Hesam Sharifi, the Iranian Painter, and Filmmaker is the director and writer of the screenplay.

CAST AND CREW
Writer and director Hesam Sharifi

Producers
Parandeh Alaei
Zigguart Virtual Art Gallery

Director of Photography
Ali Dalvandi

Music and Sound Design
Hadi Farahmand

Actors
Alireza Gheidari
Ali Ghamilouie

Edited by Hesam Sharifi, Ali Dalvandi
Colorist Ali Dalvandi
Assistant Director and Planner Parandeh Alaei
Visual Effects Mohammad Amin Ghazanfary
Sound Editing Hadi Farahmand

 

Distribute by Zigguart Virtual Art Gallery

 

Available to Rent and Watch Worldwide on

Enjoy and Watch this Short film on Zigguart 
Release on Zigguart, January 2024
All rights reserved