Cameraman by Arsalan Motavali Premieres at HollyShorts Film Festival

Key Takeaways

Personal stories can resonate universally. Arsalan Motavali blends fact and fiction in Cameraman using his family's home videos, offering a universal exploration of dreams and reality.
Directing is an act of discovery. Arsalan learned that directing is about excavation rather than creation, letting the footage guide the narrative.
Independent filmmaking thrives on collaboration. Arsalan emphasizes that everyone involved in Cameraman was driven by passion and shared ownership of the story.

Multi-disciplinary filmmaker Arsalan Motavali brings his debut short film, Cameraman, to the HollyShorts Film Festival, marking its world premiere. Based in London, Arsalan is the Creative Executive at Agile Films, and Cameraman represents a deeply personal project intertwined with his family's history.

The film stars Sia Alipour, Isabella Nefar, Martin Bassindale, and Ayla Behresi. The creative team includes producers Precious Mahaga, Hayley Williams, and Harry Chambers, with Ebba Hult as the Director of Photography.

The Origin & Process

How did Cameraman come to be? What drew you to tell this story now?

This is my first short film as a writer/director. I've largely worked as a Creative Executive at Agile Films. The story organically grew from a memory about my parents. I’ve always been drawn to how time passes and memory distorts it. The film blends my family’s home videos from Iran, adding a level of truth that celebrates these tapes. It reveals the balancing act of following dreams against reality.

"The film is telling you in the edit what it wants to be!"

What surprised you most about filmmaking this time?

Directing (and maybe even writing) is closer to excavation than creation. The film tells you in the edit what it wants to be. When I didn't listen to it, I made decisions that didn't work. Accepting and letting the footage guide me, rather than imposing my preconceived ideas, was a huge awakening. Working with editors Sadaf and JP made me confront my true intentions.

Filmmaking Insights

What do you hope audiences take away from your film?

I truly hope audiences like it. If they don’t, well, it’s a short movie; it will be over by the time they realize it’s not for them.

How has this film shaped your future storytelling?

Making this film taught me honesty. It forced me to bear a large part of my personal life to many people, which was terrifying. But I pushed myself to be honest, and people didn’t judge me. This gift of honesty will shape anything I do in the future.

"Take it one shot at a time."

What tools or techniques helped you during production?

I read many books on directing and absorbed interviews with my favorite filmmakers. But something that helped a lot was advice from Wes Anderson: "take it one shot at a time." On set, I focused on getting each shot right, which helped manage the overwhelming number of questions and anxieties.

Independent Filmmaking

What’s the greatest strength of independent filmmaking?

The collaboration. No one is getting paid much, so everyone is there because they want to help with this particular story. I felt that on this film, and everyone brought their A-game. It’s a luxury to find collaborators who are equally passionate about telling new stories.

HollyShorts & Beyond

What does being selected for HollyShorts mean to you?

It's our World Premiere, so everything! It’s a privilege to have something programmers deemed worthwhile to show to an audience thousands of miles away.

Where do you see this film going next?

We’re waiting to hear back from other festivals, which is like gambling, but fun. I’d love to give it an online home and reach as many people as possible.