Interviews

Interview: Ali Abbasi – Border

Published on October 27, 2018

Two years after Shelley, a horror film based on a Norse mythology and folktale, Ali Abbasi premiered the buzz heavy Border at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section. In some circles considered a front-runner as the fest’s cult horror classic; inspired by a short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Border is a smart genre-bending mix of romance, social realism, supernatural noir and Nordic noir that sees the filmmaker revisit again the horror genre, but here defies it and subverts the genre conventions. Utitlizing Lindqvist’s written work as a foundation, there is an echo the crumbing human civilization and the people who are not what they seem. I had the chance to sit with Abbasi and ask him about where his inspiration comes from, his working method with his actor set, and the story structure of horror films and his reflection upon it.

Amir Ganjavie

Amir Ganjavie, a Ph.D. in communication and culture, is a Toronto-based writer, cultural citric, festival director, community activist and filmmaker. Fascinated by the issue of alternative and utopian space in modern urban settings and cinema, Amir has published several articles on utopia and two books, one on utopia (Le rÃ´le de la pensÃ©e utopique dans lâamÃ©nagement des villes de demain) and the other on walkable neighbourhoods (Pour une ville qui marche). He has recently co-edited two special volumes on Iranian cinema for film International and Asian Cinema and edited a Humanities of the Other: An essay collection on the Dardanne Brothers (in Persian). Aside from academia, he writes for MovieMaker, Filmint, Mubi, Senses of Cinema, Offscreen and Brightlight. Amir is very active in the community. He serves as the CEO of CineIran Festival and Phoenix Cultural Centre of Toronto. He is also the founding member of NaMaNa Cinema. He has recently directed/produced a long feature film in Canada, named Pendulum. His top 2 theatrical release for 2017: IldikÃ³ Enyedi's On Body and Soul and Michel Hazanavicius's Redoubtable.