Behind the Scenes of 'Under the Olive Trees'

Behind the Scenes of 'Under the Olive Trees' takes you onto the set of Abbas Kiarostami's Through the Olive Trees and watches how a small, resourceful crew transforms dusty locations into cinematic moments. Hamideh Sharif Rad stays close to everyday interactions, filming rehearsals, technical adjustments, and informal exchanges among directors, nonprofessional actors and local residents who often double as collaborators. Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi appear as themselves, offering direction, improvising lines and debating framing and rhythm on the spot. The camera prefers lingering observation over explanatory voiceover, so you learn about performance choices, blocking, camera movement and sound through practical problem solving. The result is an unobtrusive record of how a film's mood and meaning are gradually assembled, without revealing key plot developments from the feature.

Hamideh Sharif Rad directed this 1994 documentary, assembling on-set footage and candid interviews around the production of Through the Olive Trees. Shot during the feature's making, it foregrounds practical filmmaking moments and includes appearances by Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi.

Public box office records for this short documentary are minimal. It didn't have a major commercial roll-out and apparently earned little theatrical revenue, reaching viewers mainly through festival screenings, retrospective programs and classroom showings rather than mainstream release.

Because it records two key figures in Iranian cinema working in situ, the film has grown into a resource for filmmakers and scholars. Its clear documentation of technique and its honest portrayal of collaboration have helped frame academic debates about Iranian New Wave aesthetics, the role of improvisation and the ethics of representing ordinary people.

Responses from critics and scholars tend to praise the documentary's observational approach and usefulness as a teaching tool. The film spotlights themes like the interplay of reality and staged performance, director-actor negotiation, and how technical choices, including lighting, editing and sound, shape narrative tone and viewer perception.