Stills from Suddenly Slaughter Film…

SUDDENLY SLAUGHTER FILM

The Biting School’s Aryo and Arash Khakpour are thrilled to announce the world premiere of Suddenly Slaughter on Tuesday, October 10 at 7:00pm at The Cinematheque in Vancouver (1131 Howe Street). .

A cinematic response to The Biting School’s 2019 interdisciplinary stage performance of the same name based on a prominent Iranian play written in 1971, this film adaptation intertwines recreated scenes from the play with scenes of the difficult journey of the show’s fictionalized immigrant director (played by Aryo) during rehearsals.

Suddenly Slaughter tells the story of the tenants of a communal house in a poor part of Tehran and a stranger who arrives with a suitcase they assume is full of money. The newcomer becomes the object of his neighbours' curiosity, envy, and hatred. In the end, he is murdered by the society around him—a fate paralleling that of the director.

What does it mean to interpret and reinterpret, translate and retranslate, create and recreate a cultural product that is “foreign” to both the artistic ensemble and the audience? Suddenly Slaughter explores greed, patriarchy, exclusionary societies, loneliness, religious and social allegories, and the ambiguities of immigrant experiences. The film aims to bridge cultures by delving into the uncharted territories of cultural convergence as Iranian-Canadian artists reinterpret and reimagine a timeless narrative.

“Abbas Nalbandian’s 1971 'Suddenly, This God Lover Died in the Love of God, This God Slain Died by the Sword' was too radical for acceptance in my home country,” says Director Aryo Khakpour. “Suddenly Slaughter is a tribute to Nalbandian’s radical ethic and dramatic vision.”

Director: Aryo Khakpour
Choreographer:  Arash Khakpour
Written by:  Aryo Khakpour, Majid Sajjadi Tehrani, and Arash Khakpour
Based on a play written by: Abbas Nalbandian (Translated by Aryo Khakpour)
Produced by: Sharon Kahanoff

Cast - Director - Aryo Khakpour
Cast - Landlady - Elissa Hanson
Cast - Fereydoon - Victor Mariano
Cast - Mehri - Ashley Aron
Cast - Fatemeh/Taghi - Anahita Monfared
Cast - Mr. Hossein - Arash Khakpour
Cast - Voice - Sadreddin Zahed

Director of Photography: Laurel K. Brown
Editor: Saeed Vahidi
Costume Designer: Elika Mojtabaei
Music: Roxanne Nesbitt
Sound Design and Mix: David Mesiha
Assistant Director: Grace Mathisen
Art Director: Grace Mathisen
Assistant Camera: Miguel Henlu
Key Grip: Duke Nolan
Grip: Cooper
Sound Recordist: Paul Bennett
Hair and Makeup: Krystle Marr & Shelby Parman
Property Master: Colleen Bayati
Set Decorators: Grace Mathisen, Colleen Bayati, Eveleen Kozak, 
Set Construction: Zack Faulks
Production Photographer: Jay Alderson
Assistant Editors: Augustin Escoffier. Ross Thomson & Amir Miraghasi
Colourist: Patrick Gong
Poster Designer: Hamidreza Jadid
Associate Producer (Post-Production): Maria Zarrillo

Sound Recordist: Paul Bennett
Hair and Makeup: Krystle Marr & Shelby Parman
Property Master: Colleen Bayati
Set Decorators: Grace Mathisen, Colleen Bayati, Eveleen Kozak, 
Set Construction: Zack Faulks
Production Photographer: Jay Alderson
Assistant Editors: Augustin Escoffier. Ross Thomson & Amir Miraghasi
Colourist: Patrick Gong
Poster Designer: Hamidreza Jadid
Associate Producer (Post-Production): Maria Zarrillo

Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts