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 inten
Rosewater
Synopsis
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
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.
Credits
Jon Stewart
Director
