{"id":51464,"date":"2026-06-24T14:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iffartfilm.com\/?p=51464"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:10:11","slug":"haman-foulad-vand-brings-an-investigative-probe-of-an-anonymous-executioner-from-the-first-days-of-the-iranian-revolution-combining-archive-footage-with-artificial-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iffartfilm.com\/en\/blog\/news\/2026\/06\/haman-foulad-vand-brings-an-investigative-probe-of-an-anonymous-executioner-from-the-first-days-of-the-iranian-revolution-combining-archive-footage-with-artificial-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Haman Foulad Vand Brings an Investigative Probe of an Anonymous Executioner from the First Days of the Iranian Revolution, Combining Archive Footage with Artificial Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Short Film Competition of the 32nd IFF Art Film Ko\u0161ice features among its titles the French-Iranian short Man in White<\/em> (L’Homme en blanc<\/em>) by director and editor Haman Foulad Vand. The film is part of the Short Films VI programme block and had its festival screening on Monday, 22 June 2026 at 4:30 p.m. at Kulturpark JOJ Play, accompanied by an introduction and a Q&A. The film is a five-year self-produced project of its author \u2014 an investigative documentary about an anonymous man in white clothing who carried out executions of political prisoners during the first months of the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution \u2014 and at the same time a formal experiment in which the author complements archival photographs with images generated by artificial intelligence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For director Haman Foulad Vand<\/strong>, the film began with a single photograph. \u201cMy film tells the story of a man from the first period of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He was always dressed in white, and he was the one who delivered the decisive shot to Iranian prisoners. When I saw a series of his photographs, I asked myself who he actually was, and I started looking for information about him. That was five years ago and since then I have been working with archive images and with the real history of this man and of the Iranian Revolution. I decided to turn this story into a self-produced film with archive images and artificial intelligence,\u201d<\/em> said Foulad Vand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The director frames his film as a form of resistance against authoritarian regimes. \u201cViolence in Iran is not only about a period forty years ago \u2014 it is also our present problem. The same applies to other countries that struggle with authoritarian governments. It is important for me to make films that ask questions about violence and injustice, in Iran and elsewhere, because that is how people resist, how they fight for justice,\u201d<\/em> the director explained.<\/p>\n

The film does not look for answers \u2014 it asks questions. \u201cI tried this play with the archive and with artificial intelligence to open questions about our history \u2014 what is true and what we can consider true. I also ask about the relationship between documentary and fiction. I am not trying to find the right answers; I want to put questions not only to the audience but also to myself. If we see injustice or evil, we have the responsibility to do something about it,\u201d<\/em> said Foulad Vand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

His position on artificial intelligence in documentary work was particularly sharp. \u201cIf you use artificial intelligence, you really need to need it \u2014 using AI just for the sake of AI is not good. It has to be justified. In my film I wanted to open the question of the very process of using AI in documentary. I used it, for example, to create images of the man twenty years later \u2014 images that in reality do not exist. The use of AI has to be justified morally, but also by the very subject of the film. It needs to be approached very carefully \u2014 also because of the environmental footprint it leaves, since creating a single image consumes a huge amount of computer energy,\u201d<\/em> the director warned.<\/p>\n

The theme of Man in White<\/em> does not end with a short film for Foulad Vand<\/strong>. \u201cI plan to make a feature film about this man as well. Right now, however, I am editing another film about the war between Iran, the USA and Israel, and I hope to finish it within three months,\u201d<\/em> added Haman Foulad Vand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n