2021 Collyer Fellow Omid Iranikhah just finished work on a short film called “Coffee with Baba.” Check out the interview and link to the trailer below!
1.) Tell us about your film, Coffee with Baba.
Coffee With Baba is a 28-minute short film about an Iranian-American twentysomething and his father meeting for coffee, only to find themselves clashing over their differing worldviews. Think My Dinner with Andre with a Persian flavor.
2.) When did you start writing the film – what was the inspiration?
The basic idea for the film started out as a short story, which has since been published, and you can read it HERE. A few months later, I decided to loosely adapt the story into a screenplay, but incorporate political themes that I felt encapsulated the generational divide between the two men. I figured since our two characters come from very different generations, it would be a good opportunity to highlight the sort of rift I’ve witnessed amongst the Iranian diaspora since the mid-2010s and especially after Trump took office. For me, the film functions as a time capsule (notice I wrote “a” and not “the“) of what it means to be Iranian-American at this point in history, so depicting both characters and their views honestly was of the utmost importance.
3.) You are a Collyer Fellow – how did the fellowship inform the process of writing Coffee with Baba?
Well, first of all, using the generous stipends I received as part of the Fellowship, I was able to fully finance the film, as well as my previous narrative short. Besides that, my mentor – the great Michael Weller – provided me with the narrative tools I utilized when writing the screenplay. Although it almost entirely consists of two guys sitting and talking in a cafe, Coffee With Baba is probably the tightest thing I’ve written from a plotting standpoint. Michael’s experience as a playwright helped me out tremendously in that regard.
4.) Where can people see Coffee with Baba?
Since we’re currently preparing to send the film off to festivals, it is not yet available to the public. With that being said, we’ve launched a campaign on Seed & Spark to raise money for the costs of putting the film through the festival circuit, as I can no longer rely on the means I used to finance its production. One of the incentives is early digital access to the full film, as well as an audio commentary track with yours truly. If you wish to donate, HERE IS THE LINK. Even if you can’t donate, please give our page a follow because even that would help a lot!
The trailer is also available here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMVRGXVcMQ8
5.) What are you working on next?
Right now, I’m working on a feature-length screenplay that’s kind of a spiritual successor to Coffee With Baba. This one is also a timely, dialogue-heavy chamber piece, but goes more in-depth into the diaspora’s disagreements over the future of Iran and the legacy of the Pahlavi dynasty. If all goes well, I will make it as my feature directorial debut.
