- Welcome to POV .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut .
A time-tested rule in film, be it documentary or narrative,
is that it's important to hook the viewer's attention
as soon as possible.
This practice is front and center
in tonight's film, Love Child .
The film opens with a man staring hauntingly at the camera
and saying, "I'm not sure if tomorrow I'll be dead or alive."
The man's name is Sahan, and his fear is very real.
He is about to flee Iran for Turkey
with his lover Laila and their son Mani,
the product of their adulterous relationship.
In Iran, infidelity is punishable by death.
Documentarians find their projects in a variety of ways.
In the case of Love Child , it was lead subject Sahan
who actually reached out to the filmmakers
and informed them of his circumstances
and his plan to escape Iran.
Sahan felt it would be safer for his family
if they had someone following them
and documenting the journey.
Danish director Eva Mulvad decided to focus the film
more on the love story and family element
than any political aspect of the story.
Mulvad calls her subjects strong, transparent,
cinematic characters who are not afraid to show their emotions.
For Mulvad, it was the idea of decent people
seeking safe harbor that resonated
with her documentarian instincts.
In film industry jargon, the process of producing a film
is often referred to as "giving birth."
Tonight, after a seven-year labor for all involved,
Love Child is born, and it starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.