Iranian director criticizes producers for using Turkish actors in native productions

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian director Bahador Asadi has criticized his fellow producers for hiring Turkish actors for playing roles in movies being produced in the country.

He has recently completed his TV series named “Unplanned”, which has been shot on location in Khorasan Razavi Province.

The series is currently being broadcast on IRIB Channel 1.

Asadi said, “We produced this series in Mashhad, and I believe that a filmmaker needs to leave the capital and go to other cities for his productions.”

“A number of local actors are acting in this series and I believe we have many fine, talented actors in other cities that we can make use of in our productions,” he added.

“At the present time, many TV and cinema actors have signed contracts in these hard days of coronavirus, and are working on their projects observing the health protocols,” he noted.

“We have shown our ignorance over the past years and have not trained enough actors, and this is why producers seek Turkish actors to hire in order to turn their productions into box office hits. But this overlooks many good-looking, talented Iranian actors who could become professionals with some additional education and training,” he added. 

Iranian filmmakers have begun hiring actors from the countries in the region over the past few years to foster box office receipts. 

In the latest case, Lebanese actress Anne-Marie Salameh, famous for her role in the Lebanese TV series “Jouzour” joined Iranian director Ali Atshani’s new project, “Shark”, in July.

source: Tehran Times