Mutual Pain (2025) /
Mutual Pain is a 30-minute, nonlinear, psychodrama film about love's pain, social violence, and the effect of anxiety on perception.
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Logline: John's world shatters upon uncovering a devastating secret about his wife. Fleeing into the chaotic city's dark underbelly, where reality and dream blur, he faces a choice that will redefine his future and deepest bonds.
What is this movie about: At its core, it is about self-confrontation and self-perception. How do we construct identity? How do love, loss, and memory shape the way we see the world? The protagonist moves through a fragmented reality, where time bends and memories bleed into the present, drifting between love and alienation.
I wanted to strip away barriers between film, dance, and theater, particularly through editing. I sought to create something immersive, where movement and rhythm guide emotion as much as dialogue. Editing became a form of choreography, shaping the film’s pulse and flow.
I want the audience to feel lost within the film, experiencing the protagonist’s disorientation. I hope they feel the weight of time, the ache of memory, and the uncertainty of perception. Mutual Pain is not about finding clear answers but embracing the questions that remain.
Credits:
Writer, director, producer and editor: Alireza Keymanesh
Production of: 33Project
Cinematographer: Mathieu Gauvreau
Music: Peter Pirhosseinloo
Color Grading: Hootan Haghshenas
Cast:
Alireza Keymanesh, Christina Dovolis, Andy Manktelow, Peter Howei, Devin Shears, Terry Jones, Zachary Lacosse, Ali Abdi, Yuula Benivolski, Avin Davalnou, Afsoon Afshar, Maria Kravchenkov, Tavis Putnam
Crew:
Script consultant: Payam Saeedi, Assistant Directors: Armaan Thaman, Atoosa Moshashaee, Margot Nagatoshi, Production Manager: Rafia Hassan, Color Grading: Hootan Haghshenas, Sound Mixer: Nicolas Gutierrez Garcia, Sound Designer: Alireza Keymanesh, Sound recordists: Armaan Thaman, Iman Yazdi, Boom Operator: Pari Motwani, Margot Nagatoshi, Nick Kuzhlev, Paxton Chan, Lighting Designers: Ali Rostamian, Mathieu Gauvreau, Gaffer: Daniel Youssefi, Drone Operator: Yaron So, Location Manager: Afsoon Afshar, Catering: Afsoon Afshar, Shaghayegh Rahbaran, Extra Actors Coordinator: Jianna Neufeld , Title, Credit Designer and Poster Paint: Armin Abedi, Poster Designer: Fahimeh Safi, Backstage Photographers: Zahra Saleki, Shaghayegh Rahbaran, Defne Yildirim
Bellini Track-Produced By: Peter Pirhosseinloo, Vocal: Nasrin Samavi, Piano: Behrokh Alighourchi, Recordist: Mehrdad Baluchian, Recorded at: Studio Dejahang
Backgroud Actors: Mike deVries, Nick Kuzhlev, Maria Kravchenko, Parmida Azadi, Shaghayegh Rahbaran, Ala Mohammadi, Nicholas Santamaura, James Deng, Veronika Doynikova, Sunny Hope, Nava Messas Waxman, Yeimy Daza, Michael Devries, Mahyar Saleki, Noora Hassanzadehnokashti, Kiarash Nili, Sonnet Rafi, Daniel Youssefi, Kiarash Goodarzi, Peter Charles Dobson
Voice Talents: Angela Nnenne Onuora, Mohsen Mir Taheri, Clara Chemtov
Made at York University 2024