Crashlanding the Persian Mothership
Crashlanding the Persian Mothership
A 30‑minute documentary by Martin Cooper
Ten years of practice, three shoots, one restless imagination. Director Martin Cooper tracks Parham Ghalamdar's journey from graffiti in Tehran to AI‑generated animation in Manchester, asking what happens when a migrant studio becomes a speculative starship.
About the film
Crashlanding the Persian Mothership is a short documentary, runtime 29:59, produced over two years of filming yet spanning a decade of Parham Ghalamdar's output in painting, animation, ceramics and generative image making. Cooper avoids the talking‑head formula in favour of long observational takes, time‑lapse sequences and animated interludes that echo the hybrid surfaces in my canvases.
The project began after Cooper and Ghalamdar met in 2016 during the production of his feature Traces of the Soul, an award‑winning film on contemporary calligraphy now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Director’s note
“I became fascinated by Parham’s fast‑evolving aesthetic range and his politics. The result – Crashlanding the Persian Mothership – is the product of three shoots spread across two years, but really it captures ten years of Parham’s creativity.”
Martin Cooper – Director Producer Editor
Screenings and awards
Year / Festival Category / Outcome / Location
2024 Madras Independent Film Festival Best Documentary – Winner Chennai
2024 Arte Non Stop Festival Buenos Aires Official Selection Buenos Aires
2025 Glowflare Short Film Festival Best Documentary – Nominee, Official Selection Beverley UK
2025 Wirksworth Short Film Festival Official Selection Derbyshire UK
2025 Kotka Human Rights Film Festival Official Selection Kotka FI
Credits
Director Producer Editor – Martin Cooper
Director of Photography – Adrian “Uchujin” Storey
uchujin.co.uk
Original Score – Kaveh Soory
Crashlanding the Persian Mothership – Trailer
Click the image to play
IMAGE CAPTIONS
img-20220804-wa0014-6b1f3c.jpg: Crashlanding the Persian Mothership – Trailer — Click the image to play
EMBEDDED MEDIA
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xw3C5QuDsik
