Producers' Commentary

Amir Hamz, Sol Tryon and Christian Springer on "Land of Dreams"

"Land of Dreams" is not only Shirin Neshat's first English-language project, it is also an artistic and critical look at the United States. From the perspective of a female protagonist, the film tells of the disturbing current social situation in which a deep divide threatens the cohesion of American society. The project deeply impressed us already in the script phase with its ingenious ideas and the originality of the surrealistic dream interviews.

In its later realization, the film then bristles with visual and narrative allusions to the master of surrealism on screen: Luis Buñuel. His screen classics from the 1970s provided ample inspiration for Shirin's story. That's why it's no coincidence that she hired Buñuel's longtime screenwriter for the script: Academy Award winner Jean-Claude Carrière, who wrote no less than six screenplays for Buñuel's films.

"Land of Dreams" highlights a particularly fascinating social class whose story has not often been told on the big screen: It is a segment of the American population that perceives itself as forgotten by the coastal elite, but has just found its purpose in America's current populist politics. In this sense, it is also fascinating how Shirin's narrative is initially supported by common stereotypes, but then subverted as it progresses.

It is common knowledge that in America's Midwest - where the story is set - there is no desert in the proper sense. Nevertheless, Shirin chose to use the same iconic images that have become synonymous with America through the media. Thus, "Land of Dreams" also becomes a simultaneous homage to John Ford's "The Black Hawk" (1956) and many other Wild West films.