War snaps contact between Indian filmmakers & Iranian collaborators
Times of India | 10 March 2026
Kolkata: Indian filmmakers and festival organisers with ties to Iran are struggling to contact friends and collaborators amid bombings and internet disruptions. They are relying on costly VPNs and sporadic calls as people evacuate Tehran and anxiety grows over the safety of colleagues still inside the country.
Sreemoyee Singh travelled to Iran in 2019 to study Persian and to make ‘Be Kucheye Khoshbakht (And, Towards Happy Alleys)'. After the bombings, concern grew when she was unable to reach friends in Iran. On the 5th day of the war, Singh's best friend, Majdeddin Mahmoodi Arsanjani, in Iran managed to call her using a VPN. "The connection was unstable. At that time, he was safe. I was able to message a couple of friends. The messages go through if someone opens a VPN," Singh said.
Singh said her friend described widespread evacuations, and attempts to evacuate, from Tehran. "Majdeddin has to stay back in Tehran because of work," she said.
Singh and Triparna Banerjee pitched their documentary project, ‘Fireflowers', at DocedgeKolkata, an international incubation and pitching forum, where she met Iranian filmmaker Mohammadreza Azadi. Singh said Azadi reached Kolkata on the day of the attack and wanted to return immediately but was unable to. "They moved out of Tehran now. He couldn't reach his family for three days. It was only on the 3rd day that his family reached out to him. DocedgeKolkata ends on Monday and he will return to Iran. But the airspace did not open. So, he booked a ticket to Turkey and will then travel by road," she said.
Director Sourav Sarangi, who visited Iran three times as a festival jury member, said communication was difficult because of unreliable internet connectivity. "Thankfully, I was able to reach producers, filmmakers, and artists I met there. All of them are currently safe," he said. Director Supriyo Sen, who visited Iran in 2022, said he was unable to reach a distributor friend there. "My visit showed me that the image of Iran projected by Western media is not accurate. While women may not hold the highest positions, they are well educated and are prominently visible in every sphere of life," Sen said.
In 2021, Iranian director Manijeh Hekmat's ‘Bandar Band' won the top award. She also served on the KIFF international jury. "There was no reply to my WhatsApp message. I hope she is safe," said a KIFF organiser.