A Different Way of Seeing the Sky
This week’s Cinema Mediation session at Bahar BookCity in Isfahan focused on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and The Little Prince. The conversation began with literature and animation and, through the presence of a pilot, moved toward the experience of flight and its connection to different ways of seeing the world.
In the first part of the programme, Reza Samani, Raouf Samani and Amin Mirahmadi discussed Saint-Exupéry’s life, the making of The Little Prince, and its screen adaptations. The audience then watched two animations: The Little Prince, directed by Mark Osborne, and Soar, directed by Alice Tzue. The films opened a conversation about flight, imagination and seeing the world from a different perspective.
Kourosh Kalantari, the pilot and guest of the session, spoke about his 22 years of flying. He stressed that piloting is not limited to the technical skill of flying an aircraft: decision-making in unforeseen situations is also a central part of the profession. Kalantari described flight as an opportunity to step temporarily away from everyday concerns and see the world from another vantage point—an experience he connected with the idea of “seeing with the heart” in The Little Prince.
He also spoke about the companionship of art in a pilot’s life, noting the role of playing the santur and practising calligraphy in finding calm after a flight. “Sometimes, when I return from a flight at midnight, playing a couple of phrases on the santur calms me more than sleep and rest,” Kalantari said.
Mohammad Bozorg, the programme’s host, described Saint-Exupéry as a multidimensional writer and pilot who brought the experience of flight into literature and reflection on life. He also explained the purpose of Cinema Mediation: through film screenings and conversation—especially for young people and teenagers—the programme seeks to open a path toward books and reading.
The session on The Little Prince gave participants an opportunity to return, through images and conversation, to the relationship between literature, flight and ways of seeing the world. In this sense, Bahar BookCity’s Cinema Mediation programme creates a social and cultural space where young audiences can encounter books through film, dialogue and shared experience.
Cinema Mediation sessions are held every other Wednesday at Bahar BookCity in Isfahan.
