Fish Eye

by AMIN BEHROOZZADEH (IR 2020, 70’)

Documentary

Synopsis 

The Iranian fishing vessel "Parsian Shila" makes its routine trip with a crew of 35. The top positions, the captain and the engineers, are manned by the 5 Iranian crewmembers. The rest are fishermen from two African countries, Ghana and Kenya.

Their life on the ship seems ordinary, almost trivial. They cook, clean, watch movies and make the necessary preparations for the job. They are, however, on a journey far away from land—the phone calls they make at the start of their trip are probably the last ones they will make for months. The job itself is not easy: 12- to 15-hour shifts per day, living in 2-meter cabins and sharing all the other facilities, and hard physical work, all while being away from friends and family. 

Success is far from guaranteed, and the hunt for a proper school of fish takes a lot of time. Eventually, they resolve to pray. The Iranian crew members are happy to join.

When they finally catch up to a fish school of promising proportions, the real action begins: the net is thrown, and massive amounts of fish begin to pour into the ship’s insatiable belly. Numerous dying sea creatures take their last breath aboard this merciless giant with their gaze directed at the camera. For the crewmen, who spend a big portion of their life on the ship, this is merely a job.

Credits

Director and Cinematographer: Amin Behroozzadeh
Producer: Mina Keshavarz (Mindoc Film Production)
Participants: Francis Komi, Soleyman Mirzai, John Enchill, Hamed Hajipour et al.

Press Materials