Khajeh
Sarko: His Story... | Audiovisual Documentary Piece | 2018
Sarko, or better known to most Torontonians that frequent the Dundas Square as "Believe in the Lord Guy" has been my friend since my first day of undergrad at Toronto Metropolitan University. I have always stopped by and had a conversation with him, which has given me the opportunity to know him better and learn a bit about his story.
In The Fall of 2018, I was awarded a bursary by Chang School's Creative Hub to tell Sarko's story from my own point of view. Initially, I had planned to create a photo Essay, however as I delved deeper into the project, I realized I needed a more communicative medium to not only tell his story but a part of mine.
This project became more than just uncovering the sweet normal man that occasionally yells at people at the Northwest corner of Dundas square. Sarko is part of every Torontonian's collective experience and thus in my opinion he is a living, breathing monument of this City.
He is not the only monument I have had the chance to know about. As there is another very much similar monument that now only lives in the collective memory of the citizens of my birthplace, the City of Tehran. What began as an idea for a simple photo essay, to me uncovered a very interesting and also valuable aspect of every big City's identity.
I have created a narrative through interviews with my dad, excerpts from Iranian media, as well as my conversations with Sarko and my photographs of him.
Sarko: First impressions...
Almost every pedestrian's first impression of Sarko is a negative one, as he yells at them while they approach him. Many never get over that first impression and generally know him as "The believe in the Lord Guy". This short video is meant to accentuate the atmosphere around that first impression.
Sarko: Who he is...
If people do stop by and make eye contact with him, they are greeted by a smiling sarko who always welcomes a conversation. Sarko loves connecting to people and he often emphasizes that he loves people of all cultures and he specially loves giving hugs.
Sarko: Who he is to me...
Having emigrated to Canada from Iran, I always find it fascinating when I find similarities, or parallels between the city I grew up in and the city I live in now. Both Tehran and Toronto are populated cities, and they have much more similarities than one can imagine. Sarko always interested me because somewhere in my subconscious I had always associated him with another person much like himself, that I had only heard stories of from my dad when I was younger.