Dear Jafar

“In Dear Jafar, Ukrainian artist Maksym Khodak pens letters to anti-regime Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, proposing a joint film on the role of Iran’s Shahed-136 drones (nicknamed ‘mopeds’ for their distinctive sound) in Russian attacks on Ukraine. Facing a marble-embossed sculpture featuring the filmmaker, videos show the downing of a drone, the artist’s parents inspecting a crater, and endless cuts from Panahi’s shots of people on mopeds, evoking Iran’s involvement in Russia’s war.”

Jury Statement

In this project, Maksym Khodak resorts to global cinema to overcome political differences and develop a common language. The artist is trying to get in touch with the well-known Iranian opposition director Jafar Panahi by writing him a letter, suggesting they create together a movie that reflects on the experience of the war in Ukraine and the role of Iranian Shahed-136 drones in Russian shelling.

A marble-embossed poster shows footage of a possible plot: Jafar Panahi sits on a couch while behind him a mobile fire team shoots down a target in the sky over Ukraine, or the artist’s parents ride their bicycles into a field to see the crater left by the downed drone. Breaking the silence of anticipation for the movie, the space is filled with the sound of revving engines from Khodak’s new video work. The visual sequence consists of a set of scenes cut from Iranian films where people ride mopeds—a reference to current Ukrainian slang where the word “moped” is used to refer to Shahed drones.

Credits

Produced with the support of PichukArtCentre.

The presentation of the work is funded by State of the ART(ist), a collaboration between the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ars Electronica.