Mohammad Valizadegan was born in Tehran in 1986. He graduated from the School of Art and Architecture with a master's degree in theatre directing and works as an actor, dancer and filmmaker. He played the role of Javad in “There Is No Evil”, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin 2020. “And Me, I'm Dancing Too” is his debut as a director. which won the Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film 14plus in Berlinale.
“And Me, I'm Dancing Too” is screening at Vienna Shorts
The movie begins with a camera turned on the protagonist, Saba, who passionately explains her disgruntlement for people not dancing every chance they get. With the camera placed in the bottom and shooting upwards, we watch a number of people dancing to ambient-like music, wearing white shirts, in a sequence that is soon revealed to be a rehearsal. The same girl then is the showed shooting a documentary, along with a young man she danced with, Peyman, asking asking people about public dancing, and men about allowing their wives to dance. The fact that it is the authorities that does not allow dancing in public, even if people do want to dance, even to K-pop in one case, is eventually revealed through the testimonies of people, while Saba even manages to convince a girl to dance with her in the street in the end. The 20 minutes short continues in the same fashion, until during one shooting, the authorities get ahold of the two youths, just before Saba is about to leave for abroad to study dancing.
Through an approach that lingers between fiction and documentary, Mohammad Valizadegan uses dancing in order to highlight the lack of freedom women in particular face in the current Iranian regime, with even a deed as dancing in the street deemed a crime that can lead to arrest and to the court. The old man (neither his age nor his sex is by chance) who talks to Saba's camera seems to encapsulate the public opinion, particularly of the previous generations, regarding the aforementioned issues, with him clearly stating (and believing) that dancing in public is a disgrace to the Prophet and thus a crime. The systemic hypostasis of the concept is shown during the “interrogation” of Saba and Peyman, with the difference in the attitude of the police officer, and the punishment, highlighting the inequality of a truly unfair system, as eloquently as possible.
Valizadegan chooses not to show the face of the officer at all, thus essentially elevating him to a personification of a whole system that pins down people and particularly women, based on laws that are not even properly established. Behrouz Badrouj's cinematography in general is on a very high level, with him implementing different approaches depending on the style of each scene. More experimental shots during the rehearsal, close ups during the documentary scenes, mid length during the actual story and an impressive, slightly voyeuristic framing during the interrogation scene. The combination of all the above, both in terms of narrative and production values, works excellently for the film, retaining interest and entertainment from beginning to end, with the act of defiance that concludes the short being the central message here, even if it is somewhat predictable.
Hadis Nazari as Saba is another point of excellence here, with both her dancing and her acting being impressive to watch, and the way despair, disillusionment, and resolve she exhibits all being outstandingly portrayed. Mohammad Kamal Alavi as the police officer is also excellent in his strict unfairness, with the scene actually being the most memorable in the whole film.
Through an ambitious but well presented and captivating blend of fiction and documentary, “And Me, I'm Dancing Too” sheds light on the lack of freedom faced by women in a society where even the act of dancing in public is deemed a crime. Mohammad Valizadegan proves that his talent does not lie only in acting, coming up with a short that communicates a powerful message of defiance, leaving a lasting impact to its audience.
