Kayvan Mashayekh: 0:03

Hi, welcome to Producers Without Borders. My name is Kayvan Mashayekh, and I'm the founder of PWB. Today's episode was conducted during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 28th. The interview was about the heart of our network and was conducted by Miss Sabina Hajieva, who inquired about many of the things that make our network unique and purposeful for tomorrow's filmmakers. Let's get started.

Lady of Gold: 0:33

Happy to see you, my dear. Welcome to Venice.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 0:35

Thank you so much. It's a great pleasure.

Lady of Gold: 0:37

Listen, but how long do it take to make some movie?

Kayvan Mashayekh: 0:40

Well, I mean, that's a very, very open-ended question because it all depends on there's so many variables uh uh in in play there uh that's that determine the length. You know, stories are could be stuck in development for up to 20 years before they know they find their way onto the screen. It takes a long time, it's a very long journey. Or it could be as short as you know, 10 minutes, somebody thinking about it, now taking out their phone and there it is, let's make a movie with that. Yeah you know, there's

Lady of Gold: 1:08

So there is no...

Kayvan Mashayekh: 1:09

There's There's absolutely no finite answer to how long it takes to make something. Because it now with the technology the way it is, you can literally make it in 30 seconds. And now with the advent of AI, you think it and it it'll be on the screen, you know, and uh you know you can do text to uh video and it and it creates it for you, at least as a storyboard. I mean, there's so many possibilities now in this world of artificial intelligence and how it's integrating itself in the world of film.

Lady of Gold: 1:39

So, but what about because you also need to get some uh money to to produce the movies, right? How these happen same time?

Kayvan Mashayekh: 1:46

Well, I mean that's what the art of a producer, that's what the skill set of a producer is, uh does, isn't does, is is they they know how to bring the team together from financing to the script to the director to

Lady of Gold: 1:58

Is it easy to get finance or not finance?

Kayvan Mashayekh: 2:01

Is it easy to get finance? Oh my god. It's the most nightmare. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare for some and and uh for for others. Yeah, you know, yeah, the financing will always come if the project is good and you got good people behind it. Um it's it's a matter of you know determining whether or not there it's gonna be something that you're doing as a um for the purpose of making money at it, or is it for art? And you know, those worlds of art and finance, they don't always, you know, come together in a clean way. You know what I'm saying? It can get messy because while somebody's thinking artistically, somebody has to think financially. That's why I'm saying you gotta know how to bring the team together. The team consists of the creatives and the executives that are in the finance world of trying to make sure that this perishable commodity they call film has a uh sustainable um revenue stream downstream for it. And uh and uh that's a difficult thing to determine.

Lady of Gold: 3:12

And do you know what is interesting for me personally? So which kind of people they decide to invest for movie industry? They are businessmen, they are uh...

Kayvan Mashayekh: 3:23

Sabina, that's such an uh once again difficult question to answer answer. It's a good question because it's I'm sure the curiosity is out there. What kind of people? There's there's people that are passionate about the story and they don't care about the money. Yeah, because it at the end of the day, if you can tap into that, you know, you've got a skill. And there's a lot of those out there that they don't they don't, you know, they have a lot of disposable income, they don't care, and uh they blindly throw money at stuff, but that's that's somewhat of an irresponsible way of doing it, but they don't care, you know. If you if you know, so it it depends on the person, but if you're thinking about it in a way as a business, and with all things you have to take a risk if you're gonna enter this world uh of entertainment and and and financing and trying to get things together. But that's what a skill set of a good producer is, is to be able to to find that yin and the yang because you are responsible to make sure that there is a revenue stream from this thing, if at all.

Lady of Gold: 4:28

So actually, when you plan to produce some movies, you already feel it this movie will be successful or not really?

Kayvan Mashayekh: 4:35

You never know. You never know. You hope and you there's always these the comparisons to uh prior performance, but prior performance is no guarantee of any kind of future performance. Uh and there will they do this song and dance to tell you that these are the comparables of films of the similar genre with a similar cast and all that stuff. Yeah, but you never know until it's out there and and and in the zeitgeist of of how it's going to be received when it's out there. I mean there's there's a lot of I watched this wonderful interview with George Clooney a long time ago. It was great. And uh he it was like, man, you can have the best cast, the best uh writer, the best director, and all this stuff. And then by the time it gets to you know the film coming out, it could be all screwed up like that because the the the the distribution was mishandled, the marketing was bad. So there's so many chances to mess it up. He didn't use mess it up as the word, I don't I don't want to be vulgar and use profanity here, but it it's like there's an enormous um there are enormous variables at play at all times that can uh torpedo your project, um, not just financially but creatively. And so when something comes together and finds an audience and is able to go viral, that's a gift. That's the inspiration that every filmmaker dreams about. Yeah. And sometimes it can spoil you because you think, oh, I had that success one time. Yeah, I can catch that lightning in the bottle more than one time. So it's these people who have gone through the failures and they've learned from their failures not to get too happy about your successes. Because you know, at every corner, every turn, you can fall into that pit and just go, you know, be like.

Lady of Gold: 6:19

So on this point, what is your advice for new generation? For new...

Kayvan Mashayekh: 6:23

Don't make films. I'm just kidding. It's a joke. Where is your sense of humor?

Lady of Gold: 6:34

Yeah, but what what is really your advice for young generation? Because, you know, they always look for people.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 6:40

Um I think I think, you know, my well look, I mean my advice is honestly focus on your relationships with the people that are in are in your circle creatively and know how to get the best out of each person because you have to be that person too, to them. If you're not, if you're not great, they're not gonna be great. You know, because they're everybody feeds off of each other. So my advice is find your team, you know, learn how to collaborate, create, and deliver, which is, you know, the mantra that we always use collaborate, create, deliver, collaborate, click, create, deliver. Is is uh, you know, all those things go back to the essence of what Producers Without Borders is all about, which is, you know, our our tripartite principles of attitude of gratitude, being grateful for all the skills and knowledge and things in your life that have brought you to where you are today to be able to, you know, share that with somebody. Number two, being responsive and being responsive enough that when you pick up the phone, when Sabina picks up the phone, ask me something, be available and answer it. If you can't do it, find somebody else that can. You know, being responsive is very it it's it's a show of respect, be courteous, became one, they need to be responsive. Attitude of gratitude, being responsive. But the number three thing, the most important one is pay it forward. Make somebody else's dreams come true before yours. You expect somebody else to make your dream come true. And when you by paying it forward, you're creating a cycle, you're creating this mobility about your your how you're thinking, where others are are you're thinking about them before you're thinking about yourself. That unselfish thing is the family thing, is the godfather thing that I was taught.

Lady of Gold: 8:22

Yeah, actually is the teamwork.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 8:24

Teamwork makes the dream work, that's what they say. You know, but it it's beyond that. You know, you like I said, uh all the things that that in my life that I've been blessed with, I've always thought about pay it forward, like make some of it just in in ways when people don't see it. You don't have to go and advertise it. What I'm just saying is they advertise it in the sense that you know tell people, hey, did you see what I did? Did you see what I did uh with that that person's project? And you know, I didn't, you know, I should be getting that credit on that film. No, I mean it's it's not about that. It's about you know making sure that those those people understand what the things that I was telling you about was, which is authenticity, integrity, and loyalty is all about. If you don't have that inside you, you'll never get to pay pay it for it.

Lady of Gold: 9:12

How is the do you have some funny story behind when you make some movies? Some you produce some movies and you have some

Kayvan Mashayekh: 9:20

Is this gonna be a series? Uh or Lady of Gold series with Cave on episode one, season one? Because uh that's like a 20-season.

Lady of Gold: 9:30

No, because I really want to know.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 9:34

There are many stories. There are many stories.

Lady of Gold: 9:36

Tell us one. About. Some funny stories happened to you.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 9:41

I I uh let me see think. Um that comes particular to mind is when I was making the keeper, I was in Uzbekistan. Uh we were shooting in Samarkand, and uh it was a very important scene, you know, where um uh you know, my my primary character Omar Khayyam is walking out of a palace and they're about to go on this incredible, you know, journey to search for something. And it's this majestic shot, you know, very wide angle, beautiful with camels crossing and people guards and everything. It was like a very, very complicated thing. And it was, and I wanted to get it right at dusk, you know. This is before, you know, well, of course we didn't have the the budgets for all these things that you can do in the post-production. I didn't have that, I was trying to get it all natural, natural light, natural everything. This is thinking about this is like 20 over 20 years ago. Uh, and so as I'm doing this, all of a sudden, the guys, the guys who are pulling the camels, you know, it was time for prayer. So they left the camels there and they started praying. And I'm like, what are you doing? You can't do that. And I'm freaking out because the sun's going down. The camels aren't moving. He's not pulling them across, he's literally praying. He he drops and starts praying. He doesn't care about anything I'm saying, nothing. And I'm like, wow, his entire production comes down to this moment where I didn't think about that, and it's time for prayer. It's time for prayer. Uh to give uh time for God, you know. Right. But which so think about this. So metaphorically, this is a moment of faith. And his faith was more important than money or anything. That was who he was.

Lady of Gold: 11:35

Yeah.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 11:35

And you know, he's also part of you know, but it's a very loyal family. Think about it. And wait, wait a minute. You're like, you're you're all these people, you're employed here to do all this this film, and you're not supposed to be thinking about, you know, if that guy has gotta go to prayer, but maybe there's somebody else who doesn't pray. Maybe all he's gotta do is pull the camels across the screen. You know, pull the pull the it was so anyway. So I I literally stood above him and I was like shaking my own head like God. I mean, there's nothing I do. So he finished and it got dark. So the scene is really dark, and he finally pulled across. But I lost the light, I lost everything, so it was a dark shot.

Lady of Gold: 12:13

So it's the dark.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 12:15

It's dark when you see it in the film, it's a dark shot, and it's a really funny

Lady of Gold: 12:19

But idea to be on the sunset. I think.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 12:21

Well then it was it was supposed to be this majestic, you know, with the beautiful, you know, sunset and everything. But yeah, so that was a funny. And these are the things that you try to cover up because you don't even think people wouldn't would notice. But that was a when you just said that, that's just one of many, many, many, many things. Yeah. Wow. Many, I mean, yeah. What you're asking is something that happens on a daily basis on almost every single production in the world. Something funny that happens. Well, it's funny to you, but it's not funny. I guarantee it's not funny when you're making it and money's going out the door to get something on the screen.

Lady of Gold: 12:57

And is easy work with men or women on production?

Kayvan Mashayekh: 13:02

Wow. I mean, I don't really think of it as a gender thing. It's it's really a uh, is the person qualified? Um for me, uh, you know, it doesn't make any difference. It's just uh

Lady of Gold: 13:13

It's the same.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 13:14

Yeah, it's just are you qualified? That's it. I mean that's all I look, you know, are you qualified? And and uh that's it. I I don't think about it as a gender thing, I just think about it as a qualification thing. I don't go tick off a box and say, oh well, you know, you have to be this to do. You just want the best people that know what they're doing. That's it.

Lady of Gold: 13:33

That's all uh how you get the balance between work process because you have so many things in the same time.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 13:40

Yeah, it's it's a matter of managing managing expectations. Yes. So managing expectations is one of those kind of things you learn over time. Um because you know, you have to be fluid enough and also flexible enough to understand that uh the expectations that somebody has may not be congruent to the moment or the purpose of what you're doing it for. And so, you know, that balance is literally it's it comes from experience. It's really that simple. The longer you're in it, the more projects you're involved with, whether you're actively involved or peripherally involved, requires you to see it in a way, you know, through a wide lens.

Lady of Gold: 14:22

Yeah, you know the team. They are really uh think about all that. So when you are tripping.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 14:29

Yeah, I mean that's that's part of what producing is, you're bringing the team together. And bringing that team together is knowing uh what uh what fits where. It's like a Lego piece. It's like you know, creating a Lego set, you know. It's all these pieces have to fit together to create the final thing.

Lady of Gold: 14:46

You know, the first to be successful, you need to be really of a strong bond with the people you work, your family. And that's very important. So you actually create something like all people they join you, they feel like they are family, they are together. You know, they support each other, they have similar ideas, they believe on the project and all that, you know. That's why you really, really done well on that point because you have something which I think I call it's coming maybe from where you originally, you know. Your family and then your father, your mother, they give you that gift. Which one I think now it's not easy to find. That's why you need to have more and more young people on producers without borders so uh can teach them.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 15:46

Yeah, I mean that's you know, it's all part and parcel of uh of the the greater long-term plan. Um but one thing I don't do is I don't rush. And um I like I like things to you know take their time in baking because I'm I'm so focused on that relationship to make sure it gels the right way that I know it will fall apart if you don't have the right relationships with the right people. But and the only way you it it surfaces is if you watch them to go through hardships and see how they deal with you.

Lady of Gold: 16:21

Yeah. When it's difficult.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 16:23

When it's difficult, are they still your friend, or are they, you know, the kind of people that you know will be quick to judge you and and uh dismiss you from their life, you know, and uh and that's something that uh you know I've learned.

Lady of Gold: 16:42

But I think we are fine. We have finally sunshine, the rain is stopped. Inshallah. Inshallah. So we are in Venice, we are so happy.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 16:54

Yeah, Venice, yes, 82nd Venice International Film Festival. Yes. Uh Producers Without Borders, fifth year in a row being here. I'm very, very excited about our events that are gonna start.

Lady of Gold: 17:05

And I'm so glad you invited me to join you tonight.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 17:10

Very welcome.

Lady of Gold: 17:11

So thank you so much for your time.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 17:14

I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Lady of Gold: 17:16

And we enjoy tonight.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 17:18

Thank you.

Lady of Gold: 17:18

Together.

Kayvan Mashayekh: 17:19

Looking forward to it.

Lady of Gold: 17:20

Bye bye, guys.