One of my favorite films is To Be or Not to Be by Kianoush Ayari. About twenty-seven years ago, when I saw this film at the Fajr Film Festival, I was so deeply moved that I wished every Iranian citizen, just like carrying an ID card or a national card, would carry an organ donor card in their pocket—so that if one day, due to an accident, they were declared brain dead, parts of their body would not rot under the cold earth, but continue to live on in someone else’s body.
This film was made at a time when the law on organ transplantation had not yet been passed. Even today, such a law has not been ratified in a country like Japan. Iran has been one of the pioneers in this field.
There is no doubt that To Be or Not to Be had a significant influence on the approval of this law—just as The Cycle (Dayereh Mina) by the late Dariush Mehrjui had a profound impact on the founding of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. Ayari’s film was made two years before the law came into effect, and when it was screened at the Cairo Film Festival, it won the top prize.
Today, one of the methods of filmmaking, reminiscent of the documentary style of the Dardenne brothers, is represented in To Be or Not to Be—a film like a shining gem in this semi-documentary form. Sadly, this impactful and unforgettable film was not given the attention in cinemas that it deserved.
In May of the following year, at the Tehran Book Fair, one of the first things I did was to sign up at the Organ Donation Center, which had a small booth at the fair. I received a membership card, which I still carry in my pocket, and became an honorary member of the organization—even though perhaps now my body may no longer be useful to anyone… maybe only for anatomical study.
A few years ago, when my artist brother Ali suffered a stroke, and we went to retrieve his belongings, we found an organ donation card beside his national ID. Because of that, the forensic doctors, in accordance with his wishes, removed parts of his body for medical research.
Now, in this post, I ask fellow writers, artists, and lovers of literature and the arts to join this cause and support the culture of organ donation in our country.
A few years ago, at a gathering of the Organ Donation Organization—of which I am a member—I recalled Asal Badiee, the lead actress of this film, and suggested to the organization’s directors and members that they establish an award in her name to be included in their official programs.
To Be or Not to Be tells the story of a young Christian girl named Anik who is in desperate need of a heart transplant. She and her physician, who has long been searching for a suitable heart, arrive at a hospital where a young man named Amir has just been brought—declared brain dead after a family brawl on the night of his wedding.
Amir’s deeply traditional family believes he is simply unconscious and refuses to accept the medical reality that brain death means death. As a result, the doctor’s efforts to convince them to donate Amir’s organs fail. In this tense situation, the father of another girl named Masoumeh—who also needs a heart but whose condition isn’t as critical as Anik’s—tries to persuade Amir’s family by offering them money so his daughter can receive the heart.
During this crisis, Anik herself manages to visit Amir’s home but becomes ill and is rushed back to the hospital by Amir’s family. There, Anik’s mother—with tears in her eyes—pleads with Amir’s parents. Eventually, everyone succeeds in gaining their consent.
After Amir’s funeral, his family comes to visit Anik—with a bouquet of flowers. Her surgery has been successful, and it is as if they can now hear the beat of their son’s heart within the chest of this Christian girl…
