C’est la vie
A bilingual short film about a young writer whose plan to rob a passenger unravels after an unexpected encounter with a French-Iranian traveller.
Director, Writer
Independent Project
Shiraz, Iran
2016
Project overview
C’est la vie follows Yahya, a young writer struggling to make money, who joins a reckless friend in a plan to steal from taxi passengers. Their routine changes when a French-Iranian woman, newly arrived in Iran, becomes their passenger and discovers that Yahya can speak French.
Case study
Challenge
The production presented two central challenges: filming dramatic scenes inside the confined space of a moving car and coordinating a bilingual screenplay across Persian and French dialogue. Both elements required careful control of performance, camera position, sound and continuity.
Approach
The film was designed around the tension created by limited space and miscommunication. The car became both the primary location and a narrative device, while the bilingual dialogue was used to develop the relationship between Yahya and the passenger and gradually disrupt the planned robbery.
Outcome
The completed short film became the director’s second narrative film and demonstrated a more ambitious approach to location shooting, character-driven comedy and multilingual storytelling. An official trailer was also produced and released online.
Project media
Selected frames,
films and details.
Project details
2016
- Writing
- Film Direction
- Narrative Development
- Bilingual Script Development
- Short Film Production
Independent Project
Shiraz, Iran
