Desert Dancer - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Desert Dancer"
Desert Dancer (2014)
Timing: 1:38 (98 min)
Desert Dancer - TMDB rating
6.9/10
50
Desert Dancer - Kinopoisk rating
7.363/10
5687
Desert Dancer - IMDB rating
6.2/10
2100

Actors and characters

Photo Freida Pinto #27256Photo Freida Pinto #27257Photo Freida Pinto #27258Photo Freida Pinto #27259

Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto
Character Elaheh
Photo Reece Ritchie #25438Photo Reece Ritchie #25439

Reece Ritchie

Reece Ritchie
Character Afshin Ghaffarian
Photo Tom Cullen #97610Photo Tom Cullen #97611Photo Tom Cullen #97612Photo Tom Cullen #97613

Tom Cullen

Tom Cullen
Character Ardavan
Photo Nazanin Boniadi #38456Photo Nazanin Boniadi #38457Photo Nazanin Boniadi #38458Photo Nazanin Boniadi #38459

Nazanin Boniadi

Nazanin Boniadi
Character Parisa Ghaffarian
Photo Akin Gazi #30275

Akin Gazi

Akin Gazi
Character Farid Ghaffarian
Photo Tolga Safer #11414
Tolga Safer
Character Stephano
Photo Neet Mohan #29937
Neet Mohan
Character Javadi, Naser
Photo Gabriel Senior #263853
Gabriel Senior
Character Young Afshin Ghaffarian

What's left behind the scenes

  • The film was shot over 7 weeks.
  • The plot is set in Iran.
  • Filming began in Morocco, with Casablanca serving as a stand-in for Tehran. The crew then moved to the Sahara, where the famous desert dances were filmed.
  • Filming took place in Paris and concluded in London.
  • The film marks the directorial debut of world-renowned choreographer Akram Khan.
  • To better understand Afshin Ghaffarian and learn about his life story, director Richard Raymond and screenwriter John Crocker recorded over 8 hours of interviews with the dancer.
  • Although the film tells the story of the Iranian people, only half of the actors on set were from Iran. The cast is international. For example, Freida Pinto was born in India, and Rhys Richie is English.
  • According to Richard Raymond, the film 'Dancing in the Desert' is not political. It is about the Iranian people. To fully immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of this country, the film uses traditional music, mentions cuisine, and other cultural aspects of Iranian life.
  • The film's choreographer is world-renowned British choreographer Akram Khan. He was the choreographer for the dance portion of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
  • The film features many young people from Iran – young people who are not professional actors. Interestingly, not everyone agreed to participate in the filming for cultural reasons.
  • Richard Raymond read the story of Afshin Ghaffarian in a newspaper.
  • The director compares Ghaffarian's fate to the story of the Soviet ballet dancer and choreographer, principal dancer of the Leningrad Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Kirov, Rudolf Nureyev. In 1961, during a tour of the troupe in Paris, he requested political asylum, becoming one of the most famous non-returnees from the USSR.
  • To accurately depict Iran and the culture of the Iranian people on screen, Raymond not only studied books about the country, but also spent over a month traveling through it, memorizing and analyzing the contemporary political and cultural situation.
  • Frida Pinto, who played the main role in the film, has been dancing for a long time. She prepared for the film and the dances in it for about six months, learning the movements together with Akram Khan and developing a special plasticity.
  • The film's choreographer is world-renowned British choreographer Akram Khan. He was the choreographer for the dance section of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
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