“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” So goes one of Leonard Cohen’s most famous lines, in his uplifting song “Anthem”, and Ali Asgari’s Venice competition film Un po' di luce radiates that same hard-won hope. An urgent portrayal of a country stricken by attacks from the USA and Israel, as well as the violent suppression of uprisings against its own people, Asgari’s movie alights on a doctor (The Seed of the Sacred Fig’s Misagh Zareh) who is dealing with suicidal feelings after the regime closes his practice – a punishment for helping treat the protestors. The film then follows his journey over 24 hours, as his family and patients try to intervene.

The film has been selected for many other festivals after Venice, including Zurich, Hamburg and BFI London, and it’s already been sold in major European territories, with more under negotiation. We were able to speak remotely to Asgari before Venice got under way.

Cineuropa: How were you able to prepare and shoot this film as the war has been going on?
Ali Asgari: The process of making this feature was really complicated because we started it before the war. We shot some scenes, and then the war started, and we tried to continue a little bit for a few more days. But it was basically impossible because of the security and safety situation. Everywhere was under attack, and on the other side, the Iranian forces were controlling everything. So basically, all films in Iran were halted. Then, we tried to do it in a very hidden way, but after a few days, we felt it was impossible. We were so lucky that we had shot the exterior scenes beforehand. So, we filmed the rest of the movie in Turkey, in houses that belonged to Iranians, because we wanted Iranian architecture.

Why did you want to tackle the subject of suicide and put your lead character, Arash, through such a harrowing scenario? It’s a somewhat similar structure to Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry.
During the first US war last year, Iran and its whole society were really depressed, and there were a lot of people who were not feeling good. But at the same time, I always had the feeling that, alongside this war, life was continuing everywhere. I would go out and still see everything happening at the same time. And the main idea started from meeting with my mother, basically because we were under attack in Tehran, and she asked me to go and visit her. When I went there to see her, she was preparing some stuff for me to eat. She gave me some tea, and we started to talk about the simpler things in life. And, at the same time, we were hearing the sound of the bombs that were falling everywhere. It was a strange feeling for me, that life and war could exist at the same time.

But after that, the January protests happened. There were a lot of folks in the streets, and people were expecting war again. We were hearing a lot of things about the people who survived. It was very important to talk about those who remained after this war and their journey because nobody cared about them: everybody was talking about those who left, and the effects that the war and the mass killings were having on society. There were lots of suicides among the doctors. At first, I was a bit worried about the similarities with Taste of Cherry, but generally, I don't care about them because I have my own point of view. It was particularly important for me to talk about the other people who exist around the individual suffering from suicidal feelings: family members, friends and colleagues.

How did you direct Misagh Zareh to enable him to give the impression of a man stricken by depression and thoughts of self-harm?
I’m the kind of person who likes a very minimalistic approach to acting – I don't like it to be very exaggerated. In the film, I try not to be overly expressive, even in the mise-en-scène. I don’t want to manipulate the audience through crying and things like that. It’s not my cup of tea.

I’m sure you believe that rather than restricting themselves and hiding away, Iranian filmmakers should be empowered to continue their work as this catastrophe is going on.
For me, making films is a way of fighting against a system that is trying to control you, even in your private life. So, I was trying to be a fighter and struggle against that, but now, it’s more that filmmaking is helping me survive and continue on with life. In a society where everything is uncertain, and people are suffering, I think this gives me the chance to live and survive. So, it’s important for me, and many others of my generation, to continue making movies and surviving through film – not just financially.