Exclusive Interview: Nicholas Mihm and Rostam Zafari Talk ‘Bubjan,’ Celebrating the Life Lived, and More

Drawing inspiration from extensive interviews conducted by Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of New York, and under the direction of Emmy-nominated filmmaker Nicholas Mihm, Bubjan unfolds the poignant narrative of Parwiz Zafari.

Parwiz, an Iranian man who has lived in exile since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, was once a devoted member of the Iranian parliament, dedicating his life to fostering a progressive, modern, and free society in Iran. Unfortunately, the ascent of the Islamic Republic thwarted those aspirations, compelling him to abandon everything he held dear.

Despite the adversities, Parwiz clings to the belief that Iran will one day attain freedom, expressing hope that a new generation will carry the torch towards a brighter future for his homeland.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Nicholas and executive producer Rostam Zafari (Parwiz’s very own grandson) about Bubjan, how the film celebrates the life Parwiz lived and continues to live, the process of creating this must-see documentary, and their hopes for the film to bring us all together.

PC: Rostam, your grandfather has had a profound impact on your life. You’ve played an integral role in helping him share his stories and ideals through the Humans of New York series. When did you realize you wanted to continue amplifying his life and the life lived through the film medium?
Rostam: It started with us taking an archive of the interviews he had done. At some point in the beginning, Nick and I looked at each other and said, “Wow, this is a film. This is going somewhere.” There was something so visual about his life, his garden, and his walks. There was something so poetic there. Nick and I both felt that it should be shared.

For me, he’s been my hero since I was a kid. I’ve always looked for ways to tell his story and share it in a way that speaks to the Iranian-American diaspora but also people at large.

PC: Nick, you started this project as a producer. What sparked that interest to direct this short?
Nick: It honestly began by sitting in on those interviews. I was brought on to provide the crew for this shoot and put these interviews on film. Then I saw Brandon Stanton from Humans of New York do his thing and extract these beautiful stories from Parwiz [Zafari]/Bubjan. Like Rostam said, we realized after day one and maybe even a couple of hours into the interviews that we don’t have a plan for this, but maybe we take our favorite moments from the interviews and our favorite passages, and we build a film out of it. That’s where it was born. It was born out of the masterful storyteller that Bubjan is and also Brandon Stanton. So I was fortunate enough to be invited on the ride.

PC: Rostam, how different is that experience when you’re bringing your grandfather’s life story to the written and film mediums? Did you learn anything new about your grandfather during either of those processes?
Rostam: I learned so much more about his philosophy. We talk all the time. My grandpa is my best friend. Brandon asks very hard questions like, “What was it like having a disabled son and having to leave him going to Iran? What was on your mind in those moments? What was it like taking care of him?” He would go into levels of details that I had never even thought, and sometimes, it’s uncomfortable. You’re seeing your grandfather cry.

What Nick said about Brandon, I feel the same way about working with Nick too. They’re both great artists and masterful storytellers. That isn’t my background, so for me, I would be overemphasizing my own role in all of this if I didn’t say I was just helping with the translation. My role was having faith and trusting that Nick was going to find his own story within this life. There are so many stories. Nick is going to find the story that resonates with him, and Brandon’s going to find his story. The fact that they’re different is actually beautiful. Let’s nourish those and have them grow in their ways because they are two different mediums. They both found that thread that spoke to them the most, and it was such a complete delight.

PC: Nick, there’s so much trust that you need when you’re doing a film of any sort. How were you able to build that with everybody that’s involved, especially when there is that language barrier?
Nick: I’m just super charming and funny. [laughs] Everyone really likes me.

Rostam: True.

Nick: No, it all started with the family. There wasn’t this period of getting to know each other. When I first entered their home, they welcomed me in to have a meal. They were like, “You’re part of our family this week.” That made it very easy for me to be myself.

At one point in the film, we had the entire crew sitting at the dinner table after one of our shoots. Usually when we wrap for the day, the crew leaves because it’s been a long day. They want to leave. I want to get home and get some rest. But everyone stayed. We sat around the kitchen table just eating, talking, and enjoying each other’s company. It made it very easy to feel trusted and comfortable. I felt like I could ask questions and get an insight into the family life and Bubjan’s past. That speaks to the Zafari family and how welcoming they are.

Rostam: His name is similar to the word goodness in our language, so my grandmother always associated that with him. He had a leg up, and she already felt there was a connection to his Persian-hood. [laughs]

PC: Rostam, when you brought this idea up to your family, they were a little hesitant about doing it. Have they had an opportunity to see the final product? What was their reaction? How did you change their mind?
Rostam: They loved it. I remember talking about it at the dinner table that Nick just mentioned. I was with cousins, my dad, my brother, and everyone was like, “Don’t do this. Please don’t do this.” Literally everyone besides one person, and that was my grandfather. I could learn to be more patient, but I said to them, “I genuinely don’t care about your opinions on this. There is only one person’s opinion who matters. This is his life story.”

I realized that wasn’t the right approach, so I tried to bring them in. I showed them things as we were shooting them. Over time, they were like, “This is really great.” By the end of it, my dad was like, “This is a masterpiece.” He loved it. Seeing him and my grandpa tear up, and all my cousins love it, it was awesome.

It makes sense to me why they were so nervous because our grandpa is the treasure in our family. He’s all of our heroes. There was a lot of weight in telling his story and telling it in the right way. He’s never been a sellout. We didn’t want to do anything that felt out of tune with who he is as a person. Once they got to know the people who were working on this project, they realized that they all had the same intention that we did.

PC: Nick, the use of animation in this short is such a brilliant technique to show the life lived. How early on in the creative process did you realize you wanted to incorporate that into the documentary? How did you balance when to incorporate it?
Nick: I’m so glad you asked that. Our Director of Animation is this wonderful woman in Washington DC named Elyse Kelly. She actually did the animation for my first documentary titled In the Dark of the Valley, so I had already worked with her.

From that very first project, it became like an addiction. Her team is so talented. They’re spread out across the world and just full of amazing artists. Every time that I would get an email that they had new frames and artwork to show me, it was like Christmas morning. The moment that Rostam and I had chatted about making this into a film, I was like, “We should bring Elyse Kelly into this because she’s one of the most wonderful artists that I’ve ever worked with.”

I don’t really like doing reenactments, and I’ve never done them before. I also didn’t want to rely too heavily on archival. We found some beautiful archival for this project, but sometimes it can feel a little dry. We do our best to make it exciting and really pop, but at some point, you want to visually see some beautiful representation of what Bubjan is going through. You want to get into his subconscious. You want to see the emotions that he’s going through, whether that’s metaphorically or literally. You want to experience what he’s going through. Animation is a great window to do that. It’s a great opportunity to open so many doors for you creatively. It was such a blast working with her and her team. That was so fun.

Rostam: It also has that rare quality of making history feel present. I have an image on my phone of my dad and my grandpa. When I see that, I feel like I’m right there in the jeep with them. I’ve heard these stories so many times, but seeing it animated, it’s so overwhelmingly powerful.

PC: Rostam, the short has made its way around the festival circuit and it’s been incredibly well received. What does it mean to you to get to share your grandfather’s story with an even broader audience? What do you hope they take away?
Rostam: I have loved how receptive people have been to the story. When we were making it, I was like, “I really hope people get the point of this. This is not about one culture or place. It’s all of us, all of our cultures and identities. It’s about understanding our roots, culture, our literary, historical, and mythological pasts and applying and advancing goodness, humanity, and love for other people.” These are all transcendent ideals and I hope people would recognize and resonate with the person that my grandfather is, who I think is an extremely credible, authentic person to be sharing those things. In fact, a lot of people from the story and film were like, “He became the internet’s grandfather.”

It was great to see communities of Iranians and non-Iranians each coming to the same conclusion and being moved by it. That was probably the most special part. In Iran, it was broadcast nationwide on a channel that has 34 million viewers. To have that message back to those people that mean so much to my grandfather and our family, it was a gift of a lifetime.

Make sure to follow Nicholas (Instagram) and Rostam (Instagram). Learn more about Bubjan here.