TV screenwriter Moshe Zonder is a master of tension and emotion, like when he forces a Mossad operative, played by Glenn Close, into split-second decisions in the latest season of “Tehran” or forces commando Doron Cavilio (Lior Raz) into family members. Inspire you to choose between And work in the first season of “Fauda”.
But this veteran Israeli screenwriter, who started out as an investigative journalist, says that when he creates his characters’ backstories, he often channels his mother, a Holocaust survivor, who not only survived but pod- Flowered.
“When I think of her, of her existence and of her soul, it enters the story from some place, maybe not in a direct way, but it comes into the background of the story,” Zonder tears up. Leaving behind said.
Survival, whether it be Mossad agent Tamar Rabinian, her Iranian boyfriend Milad, or their arch-Iranian foe, Faraz Kamali, is the core of the dramatic series, whose second season is now on Apple TV and Israel’s Yes Channel.
But the second season of the award-winning series aims to offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the people and places of Iran, Zondar said.
“We did two years of research, meeting with former intelligence senior members, with academics, with people from Iran. They all really know Iran from different angles,” Zonder said. wanted to understand who is our enemy, and yet many young Iranians and young Israelis look and speak alike.”
He wanted to continue writing the Muslim-Jewish love story between a Mossad spy Tamar (Niv Sultan) and her lover, hacker Milad (Sherwin Alenabi), and investigate whether love can be stronger than conflict.
He brought Tamar and Milad into the lives of Tehran’s wealthy children, twenty-something who attend the best schools in the world and then return to Iran, where they grapple with Western ideology and the authoritarian Islamic government back home.
Actors Niv Sultan and Siya Alipore in a scene from the second season of the TV show ‘Tehran’. (Apple TV)
The addition of veteran award-winning actress Glenn Close to the “Tehran” set was a bonus Zondar never expected.
He didn’t write the character of intelligent, always quiet British-born Marjan Montejerry for Close, but it was perfect for him when it came to his name.
“He Is Marjan,” he said, “is his extraordinary ability to play with strength and confidence as well as to do so with emotion, empathy and vulnerability at the highest level.”
Zondar always writes complete biographies of each of his characters, adding details and background information that may never make it to the screen yet inform their personalities.
Glenn Close as Marjan, a British convert to Islam who is a Mossad agent in Cannes and season two of AppleTV’s “Tehran”, which premiered in May 2022 (Courtesy AppleTV)
He wrote Marjan as a British woman born into an aristocratic family. She met her Iranian husband while studying psychology in Paris. When they fell in love, she was ready to leave her troubled family and convert to Islam, moving to Iran after the fall of the Shah, when the Iranian intelligentsia had high hopes for Khomeini. She is an Iranian patriot, said Zondar, who went to work for Israel’s Mossad spy agency after her husband died and her dreams of an independent Iran were dashed.
“He is a Mossad agent who is considered a traitor,” she said, “but she was and she is still an Iranian patriot. They believed that only Mossad would go against the Ayatollah’s regime, which was theirs. believed that was destroying Iran. She is trying to protect her country from herself. Sometimes I can identify as an Israeli from this point of view.”
What Zondar loves about Marjan is his ability to put himself in harm’s way for a bigger goal.
“When you see Marjan on the screen, you get inspired. You appreciate him, you care about him, you identify with him,” Zonder said. “In the worlds I write about, you get images of people who are sometimes heroes, and sometimes anti-heroes, but you see them taking risks and admiring them to help can not do.”
Zonder poured his soul into the character of Marjan, and when Close read the biography, he requested more background information.
When they finally spoke, Zonder said, “It was like a lesson to me. She was so prepared, I felt like she was in Marjan’s body. I was with Marjan, not Glenn Close. was talking.”
“She covers all the emotions and you believe in her at any moment,” he said.
“Tehran” producer and writer Moshe Zonder (Courtesy Moshe Zonder)
Studied Farsi on Zoom for about two months, until she could speak it well enough to use it for her role.
“It’s impressive to see how she works – with the script, with the Persian, on the set,” he said. “It was an honor for us to work with him.”
He feels the same way about all “Tehran” actors. About watching the opening tours, the raw footage from before the edit, and noting how the actors bring their nuances into the script, he said: “It’s a feeling of joy that they can take it and blow it up. “
In addition to gathering talent like Close, working with Apple TV as co-producer on the state-owned Cannes broadcaster-produced show has offered big budgets, with additional venues for the show taking place in Athens, Greece. Filmed, lavish villas for filming the scenes, and extra days of filming. Zonder also praised Apple TV’s work with American and British writers, who inspired the Israeli team to do their best.
“They wanted us to have a high level of stakes and suspense and still write a multi-layered fabric of intimate relationships between characters,” he said.
That said, Zondar still feels that Israeli talent goes a long way in making a show like “Tehran.”
Actors Niv Sultan Tamar Rabinian and Sherwin Alenabi as their Iranian boyfriend Milad in season two of Apple TV’s ‘Tehran’ (courtesy apple tv)
Zondar, who struck a multi-year first-look deal to produce a scripted television project for Apple TV, created “Tehran” with Dana Eden and Maura Kohn and produced it with Omri Schenhar, Counting director Daniel Sirkin, producers Donna Eden and Shula Spiegel. wrote. Original music written by Mark Eliyahu has been critical to the show’s success.
“I think it’s the Israeli talent that makes this show,” he said. “Every department had more money, yes, but it’s still Israel’s talent that helped it flourish.”
What constantly attracts Zondar is the challenge of writing down the enemy’s thoughts and ideas.
“I don’t always write about the worlds I know, but I write from the heart. I can identify with Tamar or Faraz or Marzan or Faraz’s wife Nahid,” he said. “I can understand them . When I write to them, I enter their position. You have to recognize, love and understand them, or you can’t write them down as needed. ,