Rosewater

Screenings

2015 Season
London

In 2009, Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was covering Iran's volatile elections for Newsweek. One of the few reporters in the country with access to US media, he made an appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart". The interview was intended as satire, but if Tehran's authorities got the joke - they didn't like it. They rousted Bahari from his family home and threw him into prison. Making his directorial debut, Jon Stewart tells the tale of Bahari's months-long imprisonment and interrogation in this powerful and affecting drama. Recounting Bahari's efforts to maintain his hope and his sanity in the face of isolation and persecution—through memories of his family, recollections of the music he loves, and thoughts of his wife and unborn child—Rosewater is both a moving personal story and a tribute to journalists who risk their freedom, and even their lives, to tell the true stories behind world-changing events. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia and Shohreh Aghdashloo, Rosewater is based on the memoir 'Then They Came for Me' by Maziar Bahari with Aimee Molloy. More information about Maziar's campaigning can be found here: http://journalismisnotacrime.me
Courtesy of The Works UK Distribution 
UK theatrical release Friday 8th May 2015

Filmmaker(s): 
Jon Stewart
Country of Production: 
US
Year: 
2014
103m
Language(s): 
In English
Genre: 
Drama
Filmmaker Bio(s): 
Jon Stewart
Director

After getting his start in New York's stand-up scene, Jon Stewart started writing for television. His on-camera debut was co-hosting Short Attention Span Theatre (90-93), after which he hosted The Jon Stewart Show (93-95) and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (99-14). He has also appeared in a number of films including Half Baked (98), Big Daddy (99), and The Beaver (11). Rosewater (14) is his feature directorial debut.

Film Website: 
Rosewater film website
Additional Media: 

HRW Film Festival - Rosewater Q&A, London 2015

Iran is one of the world's biggest prisons for journalists. In October 2014, according to Reporters Without Borders, Iran held at least 48 journalists, bloggers, and social media activists in detention, including dual nationals working for foreign newspapers. Human Rights Watch has documented many of these cases of abuse. On July 22, 2014, for example, unidentified agents arrested Washington Post correspondent, Jason Rezaian, his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist, and an unnamed photojournalist and her spouse. While the others have since been released on bail, authorities in January 2015 charged Rezaian with unknown offenses, referred his case to a revolutionary court, and continue to prevent him from meeting his lawyer or from mounting a proper defense. His location remains unknown. There are serious concerns that interrogators have subjected Rezaian to ill-treatment and torture and forced him to confess to "crimes" he has not committed.

To learn more on this topic visit HRW.org