Janbal: Mina Bozorgmehr & Hadi Kamali Moghadam

THE PILL® is pleased to present Iranian video and performance duo Mina Bozorgmehr & Hadi Kamali Moghadam for the first time in Turkey with their latest and un-released project: JANBAL.

Janbal is a documentary-fiction feature length movie, which takes place in the island of Hormoz - the land of thousand-colored sands in the Persian Sea - (South Iran) and tells the legend of a love story between men and fairy also known as the figure of Djinn, a widespread myth in the Mesopotamian Basin. It is a journey to the depths of the beliefs, imaginations, and esotericism of the people of Southern Iran. It is also a philosophical allegory of the relationship between language and myths.

At the crossroads of video art, performance and documentary, the movie invites the viewer to enter in the imaginary of a southern artist, Mousa, who collects the worn out leg-covers “Paachaks” of native women from the washed out rubbish found on the shore and recycles them to make his own art. These art works lay the groundwork for a modern legendary story; It has been told that there was a tradition in the past, where Island people would offer the clothes of a dead person to Mother Sea, so she could clean that person’s soul.

The exhibition is a triptych of the three central characters: Dokhte-Dirya (the sea woman), Khem (the fairy) and Mousa (the artist).

Hadi Kamali Moghadam (b.1973 in Shiraz) is a director, Performer, Writer and filmmaker. He graduated in theatre studies from the “Independent acting School of Tehran” and film directing from the “Tehran Film School”. He is the founder of Noir Art Group collective.

Mina Bozorgmehr, (b. 1980 in Tehran) is a filmmaker, urban activist, artist, performer, writer, and co-director of Noir Art Group. She graduated in architecture from the “La Villette Architecture school” in Paris, and from the” School of movement studies, LEM “In International Theater School of “Jacque le coq” in Paris.

Both based in Tehran, they have initiated Noir Art Group in 2006, focusing on site specific and urban activism, performances, as well as experimental and documentary movies. Their practice and research focus on the identity of space and landscape, its history, developing different approaches of performing arts, improvisation and body language.