Director Kaveh Daneshmand (b. 1982) is an Iranian filmmaker living in the Czech Republic. His debut film, Endless Summer Syndrome portrays a weekend in the life of a successful, wealthy, and seemingly happy family. The mother is a lawyer who has reached a high position in her profession, and the father is an intellectual. The family has two adopted teenage children. It's the last days of August, the beginning of September, and the family spends the final days at their summer house before moving back to the city, and their son goes to study in the USA. The tranquil idyll is interrupted by an unexpected phone call, triggering suspicions, revealing a life-shattering secret, and ultimately leading to the death of a family member. The film begins with the characters at an investigator's office, and the tragic accident has already occurred. Now the audience is taken back to the summer memories to find out what happened and how.
Daneshmand skillfully builds tension and unexpected twists in his film, which continue until the end. The story begins at a slow pace but the tension keeps growing until it culminates in a fateful decision. The author uses classical film techniques to convey the story, avoiding experimentation, excessive noise, or digressions. The focus is on a specific story, which works very well for the audience. The visual language is clear, dialogues are lucid, and viewers don't need to search for hidden symbols between the lines. Nevertheless, the film offers food for thought, marking a strong debut. For those who appreciate French-style cinema, it surely provides a quality film experience.
I asked the filmmaker a few questions about his debut film and his future plans.

Your film received the Karlovy Vary IFF Works in Progress award. Why did you decide to bring your film to compete in the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn? Have you been here before or what have you heard about us? Please tell me in a few sentences.

I am a festival organizer myself and need to keep myself updated with some of the most important film festivals across Europe, their catalogs, their target audiences, and the overall quality of the films they showcase throughout the year. Tallinn Black Nights has been one of the key festivals I have followed and read about for many years now and several films I have picked for our festival lineup have had their world premieres at Tallinn Black Nights. So, the festival and its reputation were quite familiar to me and I always appreciated the tasteful, original and distinguished lineup of the festival.

This is your debut full-length feature film, please tell us a bit about the birth of the film. What inspired you to choose this topic? Were there some real-life events that led you to this kind of story? What is your main message to the audience?

I wrote the story with Gem Deger, one of my very close friends; a very refined and talented filmmaker himself who not only acted in “Endless Summer Syndrome” but was also one of its producers. When we came up with the premise, it excited both of us a lot; it was a provocative topic and involved emotions that we felt close to; the anxious search for the truth, dangerous suspicions and attractions, hope and fear; these are some of the core feelings that have been a part of our emotional palette and some of the best works of art since Oedipus and Antigone. In the process, we kept putting ourselves in the shoes of the audience and we were careful not to preach to them with some moral conclusions or advice but to put them to a test of their moral values instead.

You wrote the scenario together with Laurine Bauby. Please describe the working process, how it goes, to write a scenario together with someone else? How was your synergy, what came from your side and what from Laurine? Please describe in a few sentences.

I wrote the first draft of the script alone and then, shared it with Laurine who brought so much insight to the story; the French culture with all its intricate details and nuances, this specific family and the complex web of dynamics between them and in general, the storyline itself, would be nowhere close to where it is now in the story without her. She brought a very rich, creative and refined perspective not only to the story but to the lines of dialogue. We worked on every single line, on every single action and every little motif in the storyline together and finalized the script in a collaborative manner.

The intention from the very beginning was to make a slow-paced thriller. When we worked with Gem on the story, our key reference was Swimming Pool by François Ozon; an elegant, mysterious film that is in no rush when it comes to telling its story but yet, it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

That is why the script, the visual treatment of the film and all the decisions that I made throughout pre-production, production and post-production regarding the shotlist, storyboard, mis-en-scène, blocking and the camera treatment were to make sure that the story evolves gently, but the universe it unfolds is uncomfortable, tense and chilling. This is a combination I enjoy dearly.

Your film has quite strong sex scenes and an erotic tension between two men. Many directors and actors have said that doing these kinds of scenes is the hardest for them. Did you have any challenges while filming and creating this sort of atmosphere and filming the scenes? Please describe.

I had lengthy conversations with all the four actors for months regarding the sexuality portrayed in the film. We built a very strong bond very early on during our rehearsals and there was a very profound combination of respect and closeness between all of us. This allowed us to talk about, choreograph and rehearse all these scenes with patience and mutual understanding. All the intimate scenes in the film were shot in a very controlled environment where our actors felt utterly safe and fully respected, and in fact, they were among some of the less difficult scenes to shoot in terms of the synergy and the atmosphere in the film set.

Please tell us a bit about your actors and actresses, how was the casting process, what is important for you in working with actors? What do you seek in actors? Did you rehearse a lot, did you make any changes in dialogues or script while shooting the film, was there any room for improvisation? Please describe your work as a film director.

Apart from Gem Deger with whom we produced and wrote the story, the rest of the cast were finalized after the script was finished. Laurine Bauby who worked on the script with me as well as many other important aspects of the film, was the casting director of our film and helped us tremendously with finding our extraordinary cast. The whole process was done during long periods of lockdowns so the entirety of the casting process happened online. However, from very early on when I received the headshots of Sophie Colon, Frédérika Milano and Matheo Capelli as the potential candidates, I knew from the bottom of my heart that they were the right choices. It was possible to see through the photos and see how they were so fitting to how we had imagined the story with Gem. I was completely convinced after watching their self-tapes and our online casting sessions with them.

Once the casting was locked, we worked extensively on every scene of the film. All the four actors were completely immersed in the world of the story and came up with their own interpretations of the characters. So, during the rehearsals and even on the set, many lines changed and many brilliant ideas were brought to the table by the actors.

You are at age 40+. This is not unusual to make a debut film at your age, but it also has to have some sort of the story behind it. How did you end up making films? Please tell us your story how did you become a film-maker? What brought you to films? Were there many obstacles? Please describe.

I started studying film at the age of 28 when I moved from Tehran to Prague to study film at Prague Film School. I came to the Czech Republic with a background in engineering which I was happy to leave behind. So, by the time I was finished with my film education, I was already in my early 30s. It took me 9 more years to shoot my debut feature, during which time, I learned a lot more about cinema, exercised and sharpened my vision as a director and thickened my skin in the complex universe of film industry.

What about your future plans? Do you intend to stick with films? Any scenario, any story waiting to make it to the big screen?

At the moment, I am developing my second feature film, a provocative thriller focused on Iranian politics. At the same time, I am collaborating with Gem on his second directorial feature film which is scheduled to be shot in 2024. I am also engaged in teaching film at Prague Film School where I once studied myself many years ago.

You are a film-festival organizer yourself, doing an Iranian film festival in the Czech Republic. Please tell us a bit about this festival and about organizing a festival. What do you enjoy the most about film festivals? Please describe.

The original idea of the festival was to introduce the Czech audiences to Iranian cinema; an almost entirely unknown phenomenon back in 2012 in Prague. It soon expanded to a platform for co-production between the two countries, and thanks to the festival, tens of co-productions between the two countries as well as the distribution of many Iranian titles in the Czech Republic became a possibility. The festival, its many guests, side events and program has kept my connections with Iran alive. The festival program, its theme and guests also reflect on the political turbulence in Iran through the language of cinema. This has allowed me to develop and refine my understanding of my home country, its culture and politics, and my place in this world.

Please tell us one wise advice that you would give to your child - what is important in life?

I have only recently become a father myself and even though there is so much I feel I should be telling my daughter about the adventurous life ahead of her, I think I will try to listen to her instead. I will spare her my advice and my preachings and instead, give her the space she needs to express herself with confidence.