Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for narrative songs about her personal life, which have received widespread media coverage. At age 14, Swift became the youngest artist signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house and, at 15, she signed her first record deal.
Her 2006 eponymous debut album was the longest-charting album of the 2000s in the US. Its third single, "Our Song", made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008.
Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", it became the US' best-selling album of 2009 and was certified diamond in the US. The album won four Grammy Awards, and Swift became the youngest Album of the Year winner.
Director Cyrus Neshvad Unpacks The Importance of Making ‘The Red Suitcase’: “Women Are Disappearing, I Was Terrified”
deadline.comFor Iranian director and co-writer Cyrus Neshvad, bringing the story of The Red Suitcase to life was a matter of urgency. The film follows the harrowing journey of a 16-year-old Iranian girl as she attempts to flee an airport undetected by the man that she’s been sent off to marry.
One of the short’s most instrumental scenes involves the girl removing her hijab for her safety, but also at the detriment of defying her culture.
Considering the timely release of his short film coinciding with the recent female-led anti-hijab protests in Iran, Neshvad explains, “I don’t want the movie to be political.
I just wanted to give this message that we should be free to do what we want… when I did this movie, I said, ‘I want a woman who has the choice to take this off, even if it’s for her freedom, for her free will.'” Here Neshvad discusses freedom for Iranian women, the importance of expression, and the symbolism behind The Red Suitcase. DEADLINE: What was the inspiration behind making this short film? CYRUS NESHVAD: During one dinner, my mother, who is connected with Iran because we have half of our families still living there, mentioned that women are disappearing for a ridiculous reason sometimes because their hijab [is considered to] not be [a] good [way to wear it], or they say something which is not accepted so they’re just disappearing and they were never appearing back.
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