Babak and Friends, Boston Premiere by Peter Khan Zendran

The event billed as the Boston premiere of Babak and Friends was not just a Boston premiere, it was the New England premiere. Credit must be given to the MIT Persian Students Association for their hosting of the event since every one of my Iranian and Asian contacts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island either did not receive the press info on Babak and friends I sent them or was unable to arrange an event on short notice, so MIT-PSA deserves credit for putting such an event together. Despite the time inconvenience I was more than able to make it.

The story was one that I was able to relate to and it was more than appropriate that I was there at MIT to see the premiere. Like Babak I grew up in a household where I was kept ignorant of my Iranian heritage, my father’s mother feeling that doing so would be a bad influence on me as it was on my father, and grew up as an outsider in America. Unlike Babak my being an outsider fueled my interest in my heritage. Like Babak I never celebrated No Ruz growing up, even my father, who hated America heart and soul, had lived in America too long and for him being of Iranian heritage was for him just another label. So seeing the film really hit home with me.

Babak and Friends highlights some issues which Iranians in America forget all too often. One is assimilation and preserving our heritage. Being strangers in a strange land causes pressure to conform to the society we live in, even though we get picked on as outsiders whether we conform or not. All the more reason to keep our heritage alive.

Another is how Iranians who have lived outside of Iran for a long time and Iranians of mixed heritage deal with life in America and how we see ourselves, something my presence helped reinforce. Some of the Iranians at the Boston premiere did not realize that Dustin Ellis and Catherine Bell were half-Iranian, and when some the Iranians at the premiere heard that I was half-Iranian. Many Iranians living in the west, be it in California, New York, Boston, or Toronto, tend to lead somewhat ghettoized lives, particularly those who have been successful. Many Iranians like this who have not had to struggle or live in areas where they are marginalized minorities, like I and others have, often are surprised at tales of difficulties by their own kind.

The beginning of the film shows Babak and his family as confused and introverted, not celebrating No Ruz or any holidays in America, something many Iranians who live in parts of America like myself where they are alone have a dangerous tendency to do. What they do not realize, as Babak has experienced in the film, is that in America if you are different it will be used against you, and will try to make it feel like ”it sucks to be you”. Living in America exposes us to many different influences which we can’t always ignore.

The film’s story was well written and many parts of it were well done and realistic. The schoolyard scene, the scene where Babak meets his cousins from Iran and how he deals with them were realistic in that they could have been from life. Some parts of the film made me wonder what would have happened in certain situations. It would have been curious to see Babak introducing the school bullies to Shabeh Chahar Shanbeh Soori and how they would have reacted.

Jamshid making the demons carry his throne into the air during the No Ruz story scene was also omitted, one thing that surprised me. The mistranslation during the breakfast scene also got my attention, as they couldn’t get the name of the cereal Babak was eating right in the Farsi translation got me, since it ruined one of the best scenes. Babak offering his cousins his cereal, which they complained was too sweet, was along with the game scene in Babak’s room one of the gems of the film. Adding Amoo Norooz and Haji Firooz was a nice touch as well, especially in the Takht-e-Jamshid scene. Andy’s music videos were nice to see, I always enjoy seeing non-English language music videos and Iranian pop music is very hard to come by living in Rhode Island, out of my collection of over 1,400 music CD’s only 3 are of Iranian music.

That night I left in a good mood, even though I couldn’t have stayed for long since I had to catch the bus going back to Rhode Island, having not only enjoyed a film that reminds us of what it means to be “Persian and proud” but glad to see that we as Iranians are becoming more visible.

If you get the chance, get a copy of Babak and Friends as soon as you can, this film is good for all ages and is more than just an animation.

For more information on Babak and Friends, visit their website www.babakandfriends.com.