The Time That Separates Us

Forum Expanded 2023

The Time That Separates Us circles the story of Lot’s wife and its related sites of mythology, ancient salt-rock formations found doubled across a contested border, overlooking the Dead Sea. Geologists speculate that they were created by an underwater volcanic eruption, the same phenomenon that destroyed the historical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Concurrently, the biblical narrative for this geological event tells of a community punished for their deviant sexuality – while Lot’s wife disobeys her condition for salvation, turns back to witness the destruction, and is instantly transformed into a pillar of salt.
In the film the Pillar of Salt becomes a portal through which to face the contemporary Jordan River Valley, its heavily militarised border and complex infrastructures of tourism, and the stigmatised realms of desire encoded within this highly mediated political landscape. The script was formed through a series of collective writing exercises that often took place along the Jordan River and around the key sites of the film. Through this process the group found ways to speak of geology, politics, and sexuality, using a language that acknowledged the contradictory symbolism of these sites while allowing for gaps in meaning, in which empathy and organic intelligence could operate.

by Parastoo Anoushahpour
with Bayan Kiwan, Haneen Dajani, Loay Mimi, Dina Mimi, Firas Hamdan Canada 2022 English, Arabic 35’ Colour European premiere

With

Bayan Kiwan
Haneen Dajani
Loay Mimi
Dina Mimi
Firas Hamdan

Crew

Director	Parastoo Anoushahpour
Screenplay	Parastoo Anoushahpour
Cinematography	Parastoo Anoushahpour, Dina Mimi, Nuno Cassola
Editing	Parastoo Anoushahpour
Sound Design	Parastoo Anoushahpour
Sound	Ryan Ferko
Producer	Parastoo Anoushahpour

Produced by

Parastoo Anoushahpour

Parastoo Anoushahpour

Parastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushahpour, and Ryan Ferko have worked in collaboration since 2013. Their shared practice explores the interplay of multiple subjectivities as a strategy to address the power inherent in narrative structures. Foregrounding the idea of place as a central focus, their work seeks both to decode their surroundings and to trouble the production of images through speculative narration and dialectical imagery. Shifting between both gallery and cinema contexts, recent projects have been presented internationally at the Viennale, Punto De Vista International Documentary Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and others.

Filmography (with Faraz Anoushahpour and Ryan Ferko)

2014 Still Life (Egg & Glass); 4 min. · There is a Woman Texting in Front of the Dark Horse; 15 min. 2015 Bunte Kuh; 6 min. 2017 Heart of a Mountain; 5 min. 2018 Chooka; 20 min. 2021 Surface Rites 2018 If All The Changes Quickly; 18 min. · Pictures of Departure; 12 min. 2021 Charity, Canada, 360 video; 35 min. · Surface Rites; with Faraz Anoushahpour, Ryan Ferko, 24 min., Forum Expanded 2022 2022 The Time That Seperates Us

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023