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In 2007, Reyhaneh Jabbari, 19, is sentenced to death in Iran for the murder of a man who tried to rape her. The efforts her family and supporters undertake open a window into the mass oppression and silencing of women in Iran, and the risks taken by those who defend and support them.

Synopsis

Tehran, July 2007: Reyhaneh Jabarri, 19, has a business meeting with a new client. When he locks her in the apartment and attempts to rape her, she reacts in self-defense by stabbing him. Later that day, she is arrested for murder, and her trial results in a death sentence. Using secretly recorded videos provided by Reyhaneh's family, their testimonies, and the beautiful, lyrical letters written by Reyhaneh from prison, voiced by Holy Spider actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Seven Winters in Tehran opens a window into the many ways women are oppressed and silenced in Iran, and the immense risks taken by those who defend and support them. This energizing documentary not only highlights the women’s efforts behind this case, but also shows a truly incredible figure in Reyhaneh, who became a symbol of resistance and women's rights worldwide.

Winner, Compass-Perspektive-Award, Berlinale 2023

Media Gallery

Filmmaker Steffi Niederzoll talks to the camera

“Seven Winters in Tehran shows very clearly the patriarchy and injustices experienced by women in Iran, as well as how laws protect the honor of men.”
- Regina Tames, Deputy Director, Women’s Rights, Human Rights Watch

March 7, 2024
Women’s Voices Have Power to Drive Change
January 11, 2024
Iran: Chokehold on Dissent

Credits

Steffi Niederzoll

Director
Photo of director Steffi Niederzoll, A white woman with short brown hair and bangs looks over her shoulder towards camera.

Steffi Niederzoll was born in Nuremberg in 1981. She studied audiovisual media arts at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) and the Escuela de Cine y Television in Cuba (EICTV) from 2001-2007. Her short films have successfully screened at numerous renowned national and international film festivals such as Berlinale. She participated in various directing master classes and was a scholarship holder at the Cultural Academy Tarabya, Turkey. In addition to her film work, she is also involved in interdisciplinary artistic works. She was a member of the core group of the collective ""1000 Gestalten"", which caused a worldwide sensation with its performance during the G20 summit in Hamburg. Her collective works have been presented at the Brecht Festival, the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde and Vejle, Denmark, among others. Together with Shole Pakravan, she wrote the book ""How to Become a Butterfly"", which will be published by Berlin Verlag in 2023. ""Seven Winters in Tehran"" is her first long documentary film and her debut as a director.