Anton P. Cechov – Ein Leben

Introduced by Behrang Samsami (in German)

The third event in the series Transnational Filmmaking in Germany focuses on the topic of exile. One of the most prolific filmmakers working in Germany after fleeing his home country was Iranian director Sohrab Shahid Saless. Arriving in West Germany in the early 1970s, Saless made 13 feature films before leaving Germany again in the 1990s. The television production Anton P. Cechov – Ein Leben [Anton P. Chekhov – A Life] is an homage to and an interrogation of Anton Chekhov, one of Saless’ main artistic inspirations. He puts original sources such as letters and photographs in dialogue with Chekhov’s literary works and paints a picture of the novelist and his historical context. The film is an extraordinary example of transnationalism in filmmaking, shot not only in Germany but also in the Soviet Union and Italy. (TK, CK)

Behrang Samsami is a scholar, writer and journalist. In 2023, he published Die langen Ferien des Sohrab Shahid Saless, a three-volume book on Saless consisting of a personal biography, film analyses and interviews.