In an insightful interview at the prestigious Marrakech Film Festival, acclaimed Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi shared his candid thoughts on the current state of the film industry and the creative choices behind his latest work.
Abbasi, whose critically acclaimed films Holy Spider and The Apprentice generated awards buzz, expressed a mix of frustration and optimism when discussing the distribution challenges the film has faced, particularly in the United States. "The U.S. movie distribution landscape has completely collapsed," he lamented. "It's really narrowed down to a handful of people willing to take chances on riskier, more political films."
The director noted that while Holy Spider has found success internationally, the film's U.S. performance has been underwhelming, with a "much smaller part of the revenues" coming from the domestic market than expected given the film's pedigree and subject matter. "The American film industry is just not very interested in political stuff. It's never been, and I don't think it's become much more conservative since 2023," he said.
However, Abbasi expressed cautious optimism about a resurgence of interest in the theatrical experience, particularly among younger audiences. "There's a little bit of a movement among younger people, where they actually want to go and watch movies in cinemas," he observed. "It's not back in a mass way, but in a more niche way, and that's still helpful."
When discussing his creative process, Abbasi emphasized his desire to work within the confines of commercial cinema while still exploring subjective and unconventional narratives. "I'm sort of trying to find a way of working within the structure of commercial cinema, but still do what I'm interested in doing, which is exploring things that are maybe not completely, you know, there's a subjectivity and a little bit of detachment from everyday life," he explained.
The director also spoke about his approach to working with actors, describing his efforts to strike a balance between allowing them the freedom to experiment and guiding them towards a cohesive vision. "I try to get them to be, you know, themselves and this other idea of this other person, character, whatever, at the same time," he said. "And I think that tension is really interesting."
As for his future plans, Abbasi expressed a desire to take a step back and reassess the changing landscape before committing to his next project. "I feel like the world has changed so drastically, and I've changed, so I really think that in order not to go on autopilot and just do the next one and the next one, I want to take a moment and look at what's happened and look at our reality," he said.
With his insightful commentary and unwavering artistic vision, Ali Abbasi has cemented his place as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary cinema. As the industry continues to evolve, his unique perspective and willingness to challenge the status quo will undoubtedly continue to captivate audiences around the world.