Canada is a country full of newcomer stories—people from faraway places with several different circumstances, finding their way and new identities in a frigid and sometimes lonely environment.
This was partly the inspiration for the Ottawa-shot short film I AM Canadian. From filmmaker Foad Asadi and producer Titus Liao, this story is about the journey of protagonist Parsa, who has fled the violence of the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran.
Liao and Asadi met at Algonquin College and graduated from the film production program. During this time together, Asadi created a short documentary with Liao as his director of photography.
(L-R): Foad Asadi and Titus Liao. Photo provided.
It was through this partnership Asadi and Liao entered into the Digi60 Film Festival—a grassroots Ottawa-based film festival for new and emerging filmmakers. Winning the Best Director Award and Best Technical Award, I AM Canadian centred around the festival’s theme of belonging.
“When I heard about the theme of the festival–which was belonging–suddenly, it rang a bell for me,” says Asadi. “When I was walking in the streets some day, I saw someone from the Middle East with blonde hair. I was wondering why they changed their hair colour. Is it about merging with the community, or not?”
Asadi says that for him, this was the catalyst for launching into a story that largely reflected some of his personal experiences moving to Canada.
“I put some layers to the character, which comes from me as a person who left [Iran],” he says.
Parsa in I AM Canadian. Photo provided.
As this film references the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, Asadi says this was from personal experiences and his choice to flee Iran. He says that while it was sudden and brutal, he can’t forget about it.
“I was part of it as any other Iranian,” he says. “But I try not to talk directly about it. I try to keep it in the deep layers of the character.”
Asadi says that as this is a short film, he instead chose to include the details of the movement on the character’s physical body. He uses the scar left by rubber bullets that the riot police used against protesters in Iran on the body of Parsa in the film.
“So for this character, the bullet was on his stomach, and it was part of the scar that he’s carrying everyday,” says Asadi.
Asadi says that the character of Parsa is conflicted about how to acclimate to his new Canadian environment—he dyes his hair blonde and wants to start a family with a “Canadian” wife, but he still calls his mother every day and hopes to bring her to Canada also.
Filming from I AM Canadian. Photo provided.
“But, he is so naive, because he thinks by dying his hair, by telling people he is Canadian, he can be Canadian. Even with a Persian accent, which is kind of a contradiction,” says Asadi.
For Liao, who moved to Canada from China, this project was also personal.
“I struggled to find my own position in society,” he says. “That’s why I want to produce this film, to have more people pay attention to immigrant problems.”
This film is also a local project, with 90 percent of the locations being shot in Ottawa. Asadi says this was important for the project since it was an environment he’s familiar with in his daily life.
However, there were some setbacks experienced behind the scenes that required patience and quick thinking. Liao reflects on one instance of a last-minute switch-up before shooting started.
“We applied for a location, and the day before the shooting, we lost the location,” says Liao. “So we had to drive out to Calabogie to go location scouting—we then got the location, we got all the paperwork and documents done right before shooting.”
Foad Asadi behind the scenes. Photo provided.
Despite this, Asadi is excited for audiences to experience this film.
“I wanted to show how someone who leaves his country can feel internally,” he says. “They don’t belong to the new country and new communication. At the same time they think they don’t belong to their real identity—and not having an identity is a very big challenge.”
“For me, the first time I came to Canada, I got a culture shock,” says Liao. “Sometimes, I feel lost. Because of social media, people are thinking about changing the place they live, which is risky. That’s the reason I want to focus on the reality part of the movie.”
For more information about I AM Canadian, check out the trailer, the IMDb, or the film’s Instagram. Asadi’s website and Instagram also allow you to stay updated with his creative projects.
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