My films don't make money: Iranian filmmaker Niki Karimi

Renowned Iranian filmmaker Niki Karimi, on Wednesday said that her films did not make money. Speaking at the on-going 20th KIFF, she admitted that filmmaking is not a huge revenue generator and if they are lucky, they recover the money.

Renowned Iranian actor and filmmaker Niki Karimi, on Wednesday said that her films did not make money. Speaking at the on-going 20th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), she admitted that filmmaking is not a huge revenue generator and if they are lucky, they recover the money. Karimi is known for harnessing the medium of cinema to rake up critical issues.

Niki-Karimi

"We just raise the money that we have to spend... we don't make money out of it. We just put in the money... if we are lucky, we get the money back," said Karimi at the KIFF.

Seven of her films are being screened at the KIFF in the New Horizon segment.

She is also the member of the jury that decides the best woman director's film in the KIFF competitive segment.

Having worked with masters of Iranian cinema, including filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, Karimi admitted that filmmaking in Iran is "difficult" for both men and women but it is a challenge, in general, for women to make films in eastern countries.

"They (Iranian society) appreciate women who work. We have many women who work. But it is a challenge for women in eastern countries," she said.

"I don't like labels. I don't do films as they suggest. I make my own films...I write myself. I make films that I believe in," she stressed, adding she learned a lot from Kiarostami's minimalistic approach to filmmaking.