IRNA: Filming of the Documentary on Ilam’s Reptiles Concludes

On Thursday, Fathollah Amiri announced in an exclusive interview with IRNA that the documentary Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland focuses on the lives and challenges faced by 20 different species of reptiles inhabiting the Ilam province. Some of these species have been introduced and filmed for the first time ever.

Amiri added that Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland will be screened for the first time at the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival in the documentary cinema section.

The Ilam-based director highlighted the Iranian Spider-tailed Viper as the most notable reptile featured in this documentary, which has been captured on film for the first time.

Amiri noted that this viper is an endemic and unique species to Ilam province.

He further explained that one of the main goals of this documentary is to showcase the diversity of reptiles in Ilam, despite its small geographical area, and to highlight the challenges these animals face in their struggle for survival.

This Ilam-based documentary filmmaker emphasized that the filming of this documentary took place in habitats such as the Manesh Heights, Kabir Kuh, Dinar Kuh, rivers, gypsum knolls in the west, and sand dunes in the southern regions of Ilam province.

This young Ilam director, who has previously worked on the project Life in Eclipse, added that 90% of the filming for Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland was done in natural settings, with the remaining 10% shot on set.

Amiri cited the large volume of footage as the reason for the extended production process and the late submission of Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland to the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival.

He also noted that this documentary was produced using the latest global technologies in HD quality.

Amiri mentioned that the original idea and proposal for making a film about Ilam’s reptiles came from Dr. Behzad Fathinia, a herpetologist from Ilam, whose PhD dissertation focused on the Spider-tailed Viper.

The producer of the documentary on Ilam’s reptiles added, “After Dr. Fathinia’s proposal, I initially hesitated to take on the project, believing that the small province of Ilam lacked diversity in reptilian species. However, after encountering the Spider-tailed Viper for the first time with guidance from local farmer Mahmoud Mansouri, and starting my research on Ilam’s reptiles, I realized the richness of Ilam’s wildlife, especially in reptilian diversity, which ultimately led to the creation of the documentary Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland.”

Amiri emphasized that the production team of Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland was fortunate to discover several rare and unique reptile species native to Ilam during the course of filming.

This documentary, with a runtime of 63 minutes, was produced by the Ilam Broadcasting Center and commissioned by the National TV Broadcasting of the Provinces, and produced by the Wildlife Image Institute.

Mehdi Nourmohammadi, the cinematographer of Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland, is also participating in the 32nd Fajr Film Festival with his film In the Shelter of Oak.

For the first time, Ilam province is participating in the Fajr Film Festival with two documentaries: Alamto, A Reptile Wonderland and In the Shelter of Oak.

National Park of Kavir and In the Domain of the Spider-tail are other works currently being produced by the experienced Ilam documentary filmmaker.