September 30, 2025 • 17 mins
What makes a film production successful beyond the technical aspects and financing? Kayvan Mashayekh, founder of Producers Without Borders, reveals the human elements that truly drive exceptional filmmaking during this intimate conversation at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.
Mashayekh offers rare candor about the unpredictable nature of film production, from development timelines that can span decades to the lightning-fast creation possibilities enabled by modern technology and AI. He addresses the perpetual tension between artistic vision and financial reality, acknowledging that even with perfect creative elements, countless variables can derail a project's potential success. "You never know," he admits when asked about predicting audience reception, highlighting how the most carefully planned productions remain vulnerable to external factors beyond a producer's control.
At the heart of Mashayekh's philosophy are three guiding principles that form the foundation of Producers Without Borders: maintaining an attitude of gratitude, being responsive to others, and paying it forward by helping fellow creatives achieve their dreams. Through a humorous anecdote about a production in Uzbekistan, where a perfect sunset shot was sacrificed when a camel handler stopped for prayer time, Mashayekh illustrates how cultural understanding and flexibility often matter more than technical perfection. His approach emphasizes authentic relationships that can withstand the industry's inevitable hardships and disappointments.
Discover why meaningful collaboration might be the most undervalued asset in filmmaking as Mashayekh shares insights from his extensive experience building teams across borders. Whether you're an aspiring filmmaker or industry veteran, these perspectives offer valuable guidance for navigating the complex intersection of creativity, commerce, and human connection that defines modern film production. Listen now and re-imagine what truly matters in bringing stories to life on screen.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kayvan Mashayekh (00:03):
Hi, welcome to Producers Without Borders.
My name is Kayvan Mashayekh,and I'm the founder of PWB.
Today's episode was conductedduring the 82nd Venice
International Film Festival onAugust 28th.
The interview was about theheart of our network and was
conducted by Miss SabinaHajieva, who inquired about many
of the things that make ournetwork unique and purposeful
(00:25):
for tomorrow's filmmakers.
Let's get started.
Lady of Gold (00:33):
Happy to see you, my dear.
Welcome to Venice.
Kayvan Mashayekh (00:35):
Thank you so much.
It's a great pleasure.
Lady of Gold (00:37):
Listen, but how long do it take to make some
movie?
Kayvan Mashayekh (00:40):
Well, I mean, that's a very, very open-ended
question because it all dependson there's so many variables uh
uh in in play there uh that'sthat determine the length.
You know, stories are could bestuck in development for up to
20 years before they know theyfind their way onto the screen.
It takes a long time, it's avery long journey.
(01:00):
Or it could be as short as youknow, 10 minutes, somebody
thinking about it, now takingout their phone and there it is,
let's make a movie with that.
Yeah you know, there's
Lady of Gold (01:08):
So there is no...
Kayvan Mashayekh (01:09):
There's There's absolutely no finite
answer to how long it takes tomake something.
Because it now with thetechnology the way it is, you
can literally make it in 30seconds.
And now with the advent of AI,you think it and it it'll be on
the screen, you know, and uh youknow you can do text to uh
video and it and it creates itfor you, at least as a
(01:31):
storyboard.
I mean, there's so manypossibilities now in this world
of artificial intelligence andhow it's integrating itself in
the world of film.
Lady of Gold (01:39):
So, but what about because you also need to get
some uh money to to produce themovies, right?
How these happen same time?
Kayvan Mashayekh (01:46):
Well, I mean that's what the art of a
producer, that's what the skillset of a producer is, uh does,
isn't does, is is they they knowhow to bring the team together
from financing to the script tothe director to
Lady of Gold (01:58):
Is it easy to get finance or not finance?
Kayvan Mashayekh (02:01):
Is it easy to get finance?
Oh my god.
It's the most nightmare.
It's a nightmare.
It's a nightmare for some andand uh for for others.
Yeah, you know, yeah, thefinancing will always come if
the project is good and you gotgood people behind it.
Um it's it's a matter of youknow determining whether or not
(02:24):
there it's gonna be somethingthat you're doing as a um for
the purpose of making money atit, or is it for art?
And you know, those worlds ofart and finance, they don't
always, you know, come togetherin a clean way.
You know what I'm saying?
It can get messy because whilesomebody's thinking
(02:47):
artistically, somebody has tothink financially.
That's why I'm saying you gottaknow how to bring the team
together.
The team consists of thecreatives and the executives
that are in the finance world oftrying to make sure that this
perishable commodity they callfilm has a uh sustainable um
revenue stream downstream forit.
(03:08):
And uh and uh that's adifficult thing to determine.
Lady of Gold (03:12):
And do you know what is interesting for me
personally?
So which kind of people theydecide to invest for movie
industry?
They are businessmen, they areuh...
Kayvan Mashayekh (03:23):
Sabina, that's such an uh once again difficult
question to answer answer.
It's a good question becauseit's I'm sure the curiosity is
out there.
What kind of people?
There's there's people that arepassionate about the story and
they don't care about the money.
Yeah, because it at the end ofthe day, if you can tap into
that, you know, you've got askill.
(03:45):
And there's a lot of those outthere that they don't they
don't, you know, they have a lotof disposable income, they
don't care, and uh they blindlythrow money at stuff, but that's
that's somewhat of anirresponsible way of doing it,
but they don't care, you know.
If you if you know, so it itdepends on the person, but if
you're thinking about it in away as a business, and with all
(04:08):
things you have to take a riskif you're gonna enter this world
uh of entertainment and and andfinancing and trying to get
things together.
But that's what a skill set ofa good producer is, is to be
able to to find that yin and theyang because you are
responsible to make sure thatthere is a revenue stream from
this thing, if at all.
Lady of Gold (04:28):
So actually, when you plan to produce some movies,
you already feel it this moviewill be successful or not
really?
Kayvan Mashayekh (04:35):
You never know.
You never know.
You hope and you there's alwaysthese the comparisons to uh
prior performance, but priorperformance is no guarantee of
any kind of future performance.
Uh and there will they do thissong and dance to tell you that
these are the comparables offilms of the similar genre with
(04:55):
a similar cast and all thatstuff.
Yeah, but you never know untilit's out there and and and in
the zeitgeist of of how it'sgoing to be received when it's
out there.
I mean there's there's a lot ofI watched this wonderful
interview with George Clooney along time ago.
It was great.
And uh he it was like, man, youcan have the best cast, the
(05:18):
best uh writer, the bestdirector, and all this stuff.
And then by the time it gets toyou know the film coming out,
it could be all screwed up likethat because the the the the
distribution was mishandled, themarketing was bad.
So there's so many chances tomess it up.
He didn't use mess it up as theword, I don't I don't want to
be vulgar and use profanityhere, but it it's like there's
(05:40):
an enormous um there areenormous variables at play at
all times that can uh torpedoyour project, um, not just
financially but creatively.
And so when something comestogether and finds an audience
and is able to go viral, that'sa gift.
That's the inspiration thatevery filmmaker dreams about.
Yeah.
And sometimes it can spoil youbecause you think, oh, I had
(06:01):
that success one time.
Yeah, I can catch thatlightning in the bottle more
than one time.
So it's these people who havegone through the failures and
they've learned from theirfailures not to get too happy
about your successes.
Because you know, at everycorner, every turn, you can fall
into that pit and just go, youknow, be like.
Lady of Gold (06:19):
So on this point, what is your advice for new
generation?
For new...
Kayvan Mashayekh (06:23):
Don't make films.
I'm just kidding.
It's a joke.
Where is your sense of humor?
Lady of Gold (06:34):
Yeah, but what what is really your advice for
young generation?
Because, you know, they alwayslook for people.
Kayvan Mashayekh (06:40):
Um I think I think, you know, my well look, I
mean my advice is honestlyfocus on your relationships with
the people that are in are inyour circle creatively and know
how to get the best out of eachperson because you have to be
that person too, to them.
If you're not, if you're notgreat, they're not gonna be
(07:02):
great.
You know, because they'reeverybody feeds off of each
other.
So my advice is find your team,you know, learn how to
collaborate, create, anddeliver, which is, you know, the
mantra that we always usecollaborate, create, deliver,
collaborate, click, create,deliver.
Is is uh, you know, all thosethings go back to the essence of
what Producers Without Bordersis all about, which is, you
(07:23):
know, our our tripartiteprinciples of attitude of
gratitude, being grateful forall the skills and knowledge and
things in your life that havebrought you to where you are
today to be able to, you know,share that with somebody.
Number two, being responsiveand being responsive enough that
when you pick up the phone,when Sabina picks up the phone,
ask me something, be availableand answer it.
If you can't do it, findsomebody else that can.
(07:46):
You know, being responsive isvery it it's it's a show of
respect, be courteous, becameone, they need to be responsive.
Attitude of gratitude, beingresponsive.
But the number three thing, themost important one is pay it
forward.
Make somebody else's dreamscome true before yours.
You expect somebody else tomake your dream come true.
(08:06):
And when you by paying itforward, you're creating a
cycle, you're creating thismobility about your your how
you're thinking, where othersare are you're thinking about
them before you're thinkingabout yourself.
That unselfish thing is thefamily thing, is the godfather
thing that I was taught.
Lady of Gold (08:22):
Yeah, actually is the teamwork.
Kayvan Mashayekh (08:24):
Teamwork makes the dream work, that's what
they say.
You know, but it it's beyondthat.
You know, you like I said, uhall the things that that in my
life that I've been blessedwith, I've always thought about
pay it forward, like make someof it just in in ways when
people don't see it.
You don't have to go andadvertise it.
What I'm just saying is theyadvertise it in the sense that
(08:47):
you know tell people, hey, didyou see what I did?
Did you see what I did uh withthat that person's project?
And you know, I didn't, youknow, I should be getting that
credit on that film.
No, I mean it's it's not aboutthat.
It's about you know making surethat those those people
understand what the things thatI was telling you about was,
which is authenticity,integrity, and loyalty is all
about.
If you don't have that insideyou, you'll never get to pay pay
(09:11):
it for it.
Lady of Gold (09:12):
How is the do you have some funny story behind
when you make some movies?
Some you produce some moviesand you have some
Kayvan Mashayekh (09:20):
Is this gonna be a series?
Uh or Lady of Gold series withCave on episode one, season one?
Because uh that's like a20-season.
Lady of Gold (09:30):
No, because I really want to know.
Kayvan Mashayekh (09:34):
There are many stories.
There are many stories.
Lady of Gold (09:36):
Tell us one.
About.
Some funny stories happened toyou.
Kayvan Mashayekh (09:41):
I I uh let me see think.
Um that comes particular tomind is when I was making the
keeper, I was in Uzbekistan.
Uh we were shooting inSamarkand, and uh it was a very
important scene, you know, whereum uh you know, my my primary
(10:02):
character Omar Khayyam iswalking out of a palace and
they're about to go on thisincredible, you know, journey to
search for something.
And it's this majestic shot,you know, very wide angle,
beautiful with camels crossingand people guards and
everything.
It was like a very, verycomplicated thing.
And it was, and I wanted to getit right at dusk, you know.
(10:24):
This is before, you know, well,of course we didn't have the
the budgets for all these thingsthat you can do in the
post-production.
I didn't have that, I wastrying to get it all natural,
natural light, naturaleverything.
This is thinking about this islike 20 over 20 years ago.
Uh, and so as I'm doing this,all of a sudden, the guys, the
guys who are pulling the camels,you know, it was time for
(10:48):
prayer.
So they left the camels thereand they started praying.
And I'm like, what are youdoing?
You can't do that.
And I'm freaking out becausethe sun's going down.
The camels aren't moving.
He's not pulling them across,he's literally praying.
He he drops and starts praying.
He doesn't care about anythingI'm saying, nothing.
(11:11):
And I'm like, wow, his entireproduction comes down to this
moment where I didn't thinkabout that, and it's time for
prayer.
It's time for prayer.
Uh to give uh time for God, youknow.
Right.
But which so think about this.
So metaphorically, this is amoment of faith.
And his faith was moreimportant than money or
(11:33):
anything.
That was who he was.
Lady of Gold (11:35):
Yeah.
Kayvan Mashayekh (11:35):
And you know, he's also part of you know, but
it's a very loyal family.
Think about it.
And wait, wait a minute.
You're like, you're you're allthese people, you're employed
here to do all this this film,and you're not supposed to be
thinking about, you know, ifthat guy has gotta go to prayer,
but maybe there's somebody elsewho doesn't pray.
Maybe all he's gotta do is pullthe camels across the screen.
You know, pull the pull the itwas so anyway.
(11:58):
So I I literally stood abovehim and I was like shaking my
own head like God.
I mean, there's nothing I do.
So he finished and it got dark.
So the scene is really dark,and he finally pulled across.
But I lost the light, I losteverything, so it was a dark
shot.
Lady of Gold (12:13):
So it's the dark.
Kayvan Mashayekh (12:15):
It's dark when you see it in the film, it's a
dark shot, and it's a reallyfunny
Lady of Gold (12:19):
But idea to be on the sunset.
I think.
Kayvan Mashayekh (12:21):
Well then it was it was supposed to be this
majestic, you know, with thebeautiful, you know, sunset and
everything.
But yeah, so that was a funny.
And these are the things thatyou try to cover up because you
don't even think people wouldn'twould notice.
But that was a when you justsaid that, that's just one of
many, many, many, many things.
Yeah.
Wow.
Many, I mean, yeah.
(12:41):
What you're asking is somethingthat happens on a daily basis
on almost every singleproduction in the world.
Something funny that happens.
Well, it's funny to you, butit's not funny.
I guarantee it's not funny whenyou're making it and money's
going out the door to getsomething on the screen.
Lady of Gold (12:57):
And is easy work with men or women on production?
Kayvan Mashayekh (13:02):
Wow.
I mean, I don't really think ofit as a gender thing.
It's it's really a uh, is theperson qualified?
Um for me, uh, you know, itdoesn't make any difference.
It's just uh
Lady of Gold (13:13):
It's the same.
Kayvan Mashayekh (13:14):
Yeah, it's just are you qualified?
That's it.
I mean that's all I look, youknow, are you qualified?
And and uh that's it.
I I don't think about it as agender thing, I just think about
it as a qualification thing.
I don't go tick off a box andsay, oh well, you know, you have
to be this to do.
You just want the best peoplethat know what they're doing.
That's it.
Lady of Gold (13:33):
That's all uh how you get the balance between work
process because you have somany things in the same time.
Kayvan Mashayekh (13:40):
Yeah, it's it's a matter of managing
managing expectations.
Yes.
So managing expectations is oneof those kind of things you
learn over time.
Um because you know, you haveto be fluid enough and also
flexible enough to understandthat uh the expectations that
somebody has may not becongruent to the moment or the
(14:01):
purpose of what you're doing itfor.
And so, you know, that balanceis literally it's it comes from
experience.
It's really that simple.
The longer you're in it, themore projects you're involved
with, whether you're activelyinvolved or peripherally
involved, requires you to see itin a way, you know, through a
(14:21):
wide lens.
Lady of Gold (14:22):
Yeah, you know the team.
They are really uh think aboutall that.
So when you are tripping.
Kayvan Mashayekh (14:29):
Yeah, I mean that's that's part of what
producing is, you're bringingthe team together.
And bringing that team togetheris knowing uh what uh what fits
where.
It's like a Lego piece.
It's like you know, creating aLego set, you know.
It's all these pieces have tofit together to create the final
thing.
Lady of Gold (14:46):
You know, the first to be successful, you need
to be really of a strong bondwith the people you work, your
family.
And that's very important.
So you actually createsomething like all people they
join you, they feel like theyare family, they are together.
(15:08):
You know, they support eachother, they have similar ideas,
they believe on the project andall that, you know.
That's why you really, reallydone well on that point because
you have something which I thinkI call it's coming maybe from
where you originally, you know.
Your family and then yourfather, your mother, they give
(15:32):
you that gift.
Which one I think now it's noteasy to find.
That's why you need to havemore and more young people on
producers without borders so uhcan teach them.
Kayvan Mashayekh (15:46):
Yeah, I mean that's you know, it's all part
and parcel of uh of the thegreater long-term plan.
Um but one thing I don't do isI don't rush.
And um I like I like things toyou know take their time in
baking because I'm I'm sofocused on that relationship to
(16:07):
make sure it gels the right waythat I know it will fall apart
if you don't have the rightrelationships with the right
people.
But and the only way you it itsurfaces is if you watch them to
go through hardships and seehow they deal with you.
Lady of Gold (16:21):
Yeah.
When it's difficult.
Kayvan Mashayekh (16:23):
When it's difficult, are they still your
friend, or are they, you know,the kind of people that you know
will be quick to judge you andand uh dismiss you from their
life, you know, and uh andthat's something that uh you
know I've learned.
Lady of Gold (16:42):
But I think we are fine.
We have finally sunshine, therain is stopped.
Inshallah.
Inshallah.
So we are in Venice, we are sohappy.
Kayvan Mashayekh (16:54):
Yeah, Venice, yes, 82nd Venice International
Film Festival.
Yes.
Uh Producers Without Borders,fifth year in a row being here.
I'm very, very excited aboutour events that are gonna start.
Lady of Gold (17:05):
And I'm so glad you invited me to join you
tonight.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:10):
Very welcome.
Lady of Gold (17:11):
So thank you so much for your time.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:14):
I appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Lady of Gold (17:16):
And we enjoy tonight.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:18):
Thank you.
Lady of Gold (17:18):
Together.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:19):
Looking forward to it.
Lady of Gold (17:20):
Bye bye, guys.
Hi, welcome to Producers Without Borders.
My name is Kayvan Mashayekh,and I'm the founder of PWB.
Today's episode was conductedduring the 82nd Venice
International Film Festival onAugust 28th.
The interview was about theheart of our network and was
conducted by Miss SabinaHajieva, who inquired about many
of the things that make ournetwork unique and purposeful
(00:25):
for tomorrow's filmmakers.
Let's get started.
Lady of Gold (00:33):
Happy to see you, my dear.
Welcome to Venice.
Kayvan Mashayekh (00:35):
Thank you so much.
It's a great pleasure.
Lady of Gold (00:37):
Listen, but how long do it take to make some
movie?
Kayvan Mashayekh (00:40):
Well, I mean, that's a very, very open-ended
question because it all dependson there's so many variables uh
uh in in play there uh that'sthat determine the length.
You know, stories are could bestuck in development for up to
20 years before they know theyfind their way onto the screen.
It takes a long time, it's avery long journey.
(01:00):
Or it could be as short as youknow, 10 minutes, somebody
thinking about it, now takingout their phone and there it is,
let's make a movie with that.
Yeah you know, there's
Lady of Gold (01:08):
So there is no...
Kayvan Mashayekh (01:09):
There's There's absolutely no finite
answer to how long it takes tomake something.
Because it now with thetechnology the way it is, you
can literally make it in 30seconds.
And now with the advent of AI,you think it and it it'll be on
the screen, you know, and uh youknow you can do text to uh
video and it and it creates itfor you, at least as a
(01:31):
storyboard.
I mean, there's so manypossibilities now in this world
of artificial intelligence andhow it's integrating itself in
the world of film.
Lady of Gold (01:39):
So, but what about because you also need to get
some uh money to to produce themovies, right?
How these happen same time?
Kayvan Mashayekh (01:46):
Well, I mean that's what the art of a
producer, that's what the skillset of a producer is, uh does,
isn't does, is is they they knowhow to bring the team together
from financing to the script tothe director to
Lady of Gold (01:58):
Is it easy to get finance or not finance?
Kayvan Mashayekh (02:01):
Is it easy to get finance?
Oh my god.
It's the most nightmare.
It's a nightmare.
It's a nightmare for some andand uh for for others.
Yeah, you know, yeah, thefinancing will always come if
the project is good and you gotgood people behind it.
Um it's it's a matter of youknow determining whether or not
(02:24):
there it's gonna be somethingthat you're doing as a um for
the purpose of making money atit, or is it for art?
And you know, those worlds ofart and finance, they don't
always, you know, come togetherin a clean way.
You know what I'm saying?
It can get messy because whilesomebody's thinking
(02:47):
artistically, somebody has tothink financially.
That's why I'm saying you gottaknow how to bring the team
together.
The team consists of thecreatives and the executives
that are in the finance world oftrying to make sure that this
perishable commodity they callfilm has a uh sustainable um
revenue stream downstream forit.
(03:08):
And uh and uh that's adifficult thing to determine.
Lady of Gold (03:12):
And do you know what is interesting for me
personally?
So which kind of people theydecide to invest for movie
industry?
They are businessmen, they areuh...
Kayvan Mashayekh (03:23):
Sabina, that's such an uh once again difficult
question to answer answer.
It's a good question becauseit's I'm sure the curiosity is
out there.
What kind of people?
There's there's people that arepassionate about the story and
they don't care about the money.
Yeah, because it at the end ofthe day, if you can tap into
that, you know, you've got askill.
(03:45):
And there's a lot of those outthere that they don't they
don't, you know, they have a lotof disposable income, they
don't care, and uh they blindlythrow money at stuff, but that's
that's somewhat of anirresponsible way of doing it,
but they don't care, you know.
If you if you know, so it itdepends on the person, but if
you're thinking about it in away as a business, and with all
(04:08):
things you have to take a riskif you're gonna enter this world
uh of entertainment and and andfinancing and trying to get
things together.
But that's what a skill set ofa good producer is, is to be
able to to find that yin and theyang because you are
responsible to make sure thatthere is a revenue stream from
this thing, if at all.
Lady of Gold (04:28):
So actually, when you plan to produce some movies,
you already feel it this moviewill be successful or not
really?
Kayvan Mashayekh (04:35):
You never know.
You never know.
You hope and you there's alwaysthese the comparisons to uh
prior performance, but priorperformance is no guarantee of
any kind of future performance.
Uh and there will they do thissong and dance to tell you that
these are the comparables offilms of the similar genre with
(04:55):
a similar cast and all thatstuff.
Yeah, but you never know untilit's out there and and and in
the zeitgeist of of how it'sgoing to be received when it's
out there.
I mean there's there's a lot ofI watched this wonderful
interview with George Clooney along time ago.
It was great.
And uh he it was like, man, youcan have the best cast, the
(05:18):
best uh writer, the bestdirector, and all this stuff.
And then by the time it gets toyou know the film coming out,
it could be all screwed up likethat because the the the the
distribution was mishandled, themarketing was bad.
So there's so many chances tomess it up.
He didn't use mess it up as theword, I don't I don't want to
be vulgar and use profanityhere, but it it's like there's
(05:40):
an enormous um there areenormous variables at play at
all times that can uh torpedoyour project, um, not just
financially but creatively.
And so when something comestogether and finds an audience
and is able to go viral, that'sa gift.
That's the inspiration thatevery filmmaker dreams about.
Yeah.
And sometimes it can spoil youbecause you think, oh, I had
(06:01):
that success one time.
Yeah, I can catch thatlightning in the bottle more
than one time.
So it's these people who havegone through the failures and
they've learned from theirfailures not to get too happy
about your successes.
Because you know, at everycorner, every turn, you can fall
into that pit and just go, youknow, be like.
Lady of Gold (06:19):
So on this point, what is your advice for new
generation?
For new...
Kayvan Mashayekh (06:23):
Don't make films.
I'm just kidding.
It's a joke.
Where is your sense of humor?
Lady of Gold (06:34):
Yeah, but what what is really your advice for
young generation?
Because, you know, they alwayslook for people.
Kayvan Mashayekh (06:40):
Um I think I think, you know, my well look, I
mean my advice is honestlyfocus on your relationships with
the people that are in are inyour circle creatively and know
how to get the best out of eachperson because you have to be
that person too, to them.
If you're not, if you're notgreat, they're not gonna be
(07:02):
great.
You know, because they'reeverybody feeds off of each
other.
So my advice is find your team,you know, learn how to
collaborate, create, anddeliver, which is, you know, the
mantra that we always usecollaborate, create, deliver,
collaborate, click, create,deliver.
Is is uh, you know, all thosethings go back to the essence of
what Producers Without Bordersis all about, which is, you
(07:23):
know, our our tripartiteprinciples of attitude of
gratitude, being grateful forall the skills and knowledge and
things in your life that havebrought you to where you are
today to be able to, you know,share that with somebody.
Number two, being responsiveand being responsive enough that
when you pick up the phone,when Sabina picks up the phone,
ask me something, be availableand answer it.
If you can't do it, findsomebody else that can.
(07:46):
You know, being responsive isvery it it's it's a show of
respect, be courteous, becameone, they need to be responsive.
Attitude of gratitude, beingresponsive.
But the number three thing, themost important one is pay it
forward.
Make somebody else's dreamscome true before yours.
You expect somebody else tomake your dream come true.
(08:06):
And when you by paying itforward, you're creating a
cycle, you're creating thismobility about your your how
you're thinking, where othersare are you're thinking about
them before you're thinkingabout yourself.
That unselfish thing is thefamily thing, is the godfather
thing that I was taught.
Lady of Gold (08:22):
Yeah, actually is the teamwork.
Kayvan Mashayekh (08:24):
Teamwork makes the dream work, that's what
they say.
You know, but it it's beyondthat.
You know, you like I said, uhall the things that that in my
life that I've been blessedwith, I've always thought about
pay it forward, like make someof it just in in ways when
people don't see it.
You don't have to go andadvertise it.
What I'm just saying is theyadvertise it in the sense that
(08:47):
you know tell people, hey, didyou see what I did?
Did you see what I did uh withthat that person's project?
And you know, I didn't, youknow, I should be getting that
credit on that film.
No, I mean it's it's not aboutthat.
It's about you know making surethat those those people
understand what the things thatI was telling you about was,
which is authenticity,integrity, and loyalty is all
about.
If you don't have that insideyou, you'll never get to pay pay
(09:11):
it for it.
Lady of Gold (09:12):
How is the do you have some funny story behind
when you make some movies?
Some you produce some moviesand you have some
Kayvan Mashayekh (09:20):
Is this gonna be a series?
Uh or Lady of Gold series withCave on episode one, season one?
Because uh that's like a20-season.
Lady of Gold (09:30):
No, because I really want to know.
Kayvan Mashayekh (09:34):
There are many stories.
There are many stories.
Lady of Gold (09:36):
Tell us one.
About.
Some funny stories happened toyou.
Kayvan Mashayekh (09:41):
I I uh let me see think.
Um that comes particular tomind is when I was making the
keeper, I was in Uzbekistan.
Uh we were shooting inSamarkand, and uh it was a very
important scene, you know, whereum uh you know, my my primary
(10:02):
character Omar Khayyam iswalking out of a palace and
they're about to go on thisincredible, you know, journey to
search for something.
And it's this majestic shot,you know, very wide angle,
beautiful with camels crossingand people guards and
everything.
It was like a very, verycomplicated thing.
And it was, and I wanted to getit right at dusk, you know.
(10:24):
This is before, you know, well,of course we didn't have the
the budgets for all these thingsthat you can do in the
post-production.
I didn't have that, I wastrying to get it all natural,
natural light, naturaleverything.
This is thinking about this islike 20 over 20 years ago.
Uh, and so as I'm doing this,all of a sudden, the guys, the
guys who are pulling the camels,you know, it was time for
(10:48):
prayer.
So they left the camels thereand they started praying.
And I'm like, what are youdoing?
You can't do that.
And I'm freaking out becausethe sun's going down.
The camels aren't moving.
He's not pulling them across,he's literally praying.
He he drops and starts praying.
He doesn't care about anythingI'm saying, nothing.
(11:11):
And I'm like, wow, his entireproduction comes down to this
moment where I didn't thinkabout that, and it's time for
prayer.
It's time for prayer.
Uh to give uh time for God, youknow.
Right.
But which so think about this.
So metaphorically, this is amoment of faith.
And his faith was moreimportant than money or
(11:33):
anything.
That was who he was.
Lady of Gold (11:35):
Yeah.
Kayvan Mashayekh (11:35):
And you know, he's also part of you know, but
it's a very loyal family.
Think about it.
And wait, wait a minute.
You're like, you're you're allthese people, you're employed
here to do all this this film,and you're not supposed to be
thinking about, you know, ifthat guy has gotta go to prayer,
but maybe there's somebody elsewho doesn't pray.
Maybe all he's gotta do is pullthe camels across the screen.
You know, pull the pull the itwas so anyway.
(11:58):
So I I literally stood abovehim and I was like shaking my
own head like God.
I mean, there's nothing I do.
So he finished and it got dark.
So the scene is really dark,and he finally pulled across.
But I lost the light, I losteverything, so it was a dark
shot.
Lady of Gold (12:13):
So it's the dark.
Kayvan Mashayekh (12:15):
It's dark when you see it in the film, it's a
dark shot, and it's a reallyfunny
Lady of Gold (12:19):
But idea to be on the sunset.
I think.
Kayvan Mashayekh (12:21):
Well then it was it was supposed to be this
majestic, you know, with thebeautiful, you know, sunset and
everything.
But yeah, so that was a funny.
And these are the things thatyou try to cover up because you
don't even think people wouldn'twould notice.
But that was a when you justsaid that, that's just one of
many, many, many, many things.
Yeah.
Wow.
Many, I mean, yeah.
(12:41):
What you're asking is somethingthat happens on a daily basis
on almost every singleproduction in the world.
Something funny that happens.
Well, it's funny to you, butit's not funny.
I guarantee it's not funny whenyou're making it and money's
going out the door to getsomething on the screen.
Lady of Gold (12:57):
And is easy work with men or women on production?
Kayvan Mashayekh (13:02):
Wow.
I mean, I don't really think ofit as a gender thing.
It's it's really a uh, is theperson qualified?
Um for me, uh, you know, itdoesn't make any difference.
It's just uh
Lady of Gold (13:13):
It's the same.
Kayvan Mashayekh (13:14):
Yeah, it's just are you qualified?
That's it.
I mean that's all I look, youknow, are you qualified?
And and uh that's it.
I I don't think about it as agender thing, I just think about
it as a qualification thing.
I don't go tick off a box andsay, oh well, you know, you have
to be this to do.
You just want the best peoplethat know what they're doing.
That's it.
Lady of Gold (13:33):
That's all uh how you get the balance between work
process because you have somany things in the same time.
Kayvan Mashayekh (13:40):
Yeah, it's it's a matter of managing
managing expectations.
Yes.
So managing expectations is oneof those kind of things you
learn over time.
Um because you know, you haveto be fluid enough and also
flexible enough to understandthat uh the expectations that
somebody has may not becongruent to the moment or the
(14:01):
purpose of what you're doing itfor.
And so, you know, that balanceis literally it's it comes from
experience.
It's really that simple.
The longer you're in it, themore projects you're involved
with, whether you're activelyinvolved or peripherally
involved, requires you to see itin a way, you know, through a
(14:21):
wide lens.
Lady of Gold (14:22):
Yeah, you know the team.
They are really uh think aboutall that.
So when you are tripping.
Kayvan Mashayekh (14:29):
Yeah, I mean that's that's part of what
producing is, you're bringingthe team together.
And bringing that team togetheris knowing uh what uh what fits
where.
It's like a Lego piece.
It's like you know, creating aLego set, you know.
It's all these pieces have tofit together to create the final
thing.
Lady of Gold (14:46):
You know, the first to be successful, you need
to be really of a strong bondwith the people you work, your
family.
And that's very important.
So you actually createsomething like all people they
join you, they feel like theyare family, they are together.
(15:08):
You know, they support eachother, they have similar ideas,
they believe on the project andall that, you know.
That's why you really, reallydone well on that point because
you have something which I thinkI call it's coming maybe from
where you originally, you know.
Your family and then yourfather, your mother, they give
(15:32):
you that gift.
Which one I think now it's noteasy to find.
That's why you need to havemore and more young people on
producers without borders so uhcan teach them.
Kayvan Mashayekh (15:46):
Yeah, I mean that's you know, it's all part
and parcel of uh of the thegreater long-term plan.
Um but one thing I don't do isI don't rush.
And um I like I like things toyou know take their time in
baking because I'm I'm sofocused on that relationship to
(16:07):
make sure it gels the right waythat I know it will fall apart
if you don't have the rightrelationships with the right
people.
But and the only way you it itsurfaces is if you watch them to
go through hardships and seehow they deal with you.
Lady of Gold (16:21):
Yeah.
When it's difficult.
Kayvan Mashayekh (16:23):
When it's difficult, are they still your
friend, or are they, you know,the kind of people that you know
will be quick to judge you andand uh dismiss you from their
life, you know, and uh andthat's something that uh you
know I've learned.
Lady of Gold (16:42):
But I think we are fine.
We have finally sunshine, therain is stopped.
Inshallah.
Inshallah.
So we are in Venice, we are sohappy.
Kayvan Mashayekh (16:54):
Yeah, Venice, yes, 82nd Venice International
Film Festival.
Yes.
Uh Producers Without Borders,fifth year in a row being here.
I'm very, very excited aboutour events that are gonna start.
Lady of Gold (17:05):
And I'm so glad you invited me to join you
tonight.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:10):
Very welcome.
Lady of Gold (17:11):
So thank you so much for your time.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:14):
I appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Lady of Gold (17:16):
And we enjoy tonight.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:18):
Thank you.
Lady of Gold (17:18):
Together.
Kayvan Mashayekh (17:19):
Looking forward to it.
Lady of Gold (17:20):
Bye bye, guys.
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