Directors of ‘My Favorite Cake’ had confiscated passports and were prohibited from working; In report to Rolling Stone Brazil, they tell how the movie, on theaters, is also a portrait of post-revolution
In My favorite cakeMahin, a 70 -year -old woman played by Lily Farhadpourbreak with the routine when finding a lonely man, like her, and inviting him to a night watered with wine and good conversations in his home.
The Iranian film earned directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha Awards in Berlin International Film Festivalscreenings in movie theaters around the world – including Brazil – and three criminal accusations.
The couple is responsible for advertising against the Iranian regime, disrespecting Islamic rules and spreading prostitution and liberation. With confiscated passports, Moghadam and SANAEHA granted an interview to Rolling Stone Brazil Sitting in his living room, surrounded by books and one of his four cats.
“It all started when the Iranian revolutionary guard invaded our editor’s house and took all computers and hard drives,” he said SANAEHA. “They tried to prevent us from displaying the film anywhere and when they understood that the film was going to the BerlinaleThey tried to force us to remove the film from the festival. We dislike that this was out of our reach, which was a decision of producers and distributors. The trial started that day. “
He continued: “When Maryam And we tried to travel from Tehran to Paris to finish post-production, they confiscated our passports. The trial has been happening for about 20 months. […] Generally, we go to the court once a month for interrogation sessions. Now we are waiting for the final decision of the revolutionary court. “
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Second Moghadamthey “were waiting for it since pre-production, who found out what they were doing. Called, the couple used the script of a short film signed by someone else to ensure authorization from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic guidance for filming.
The actors who embarked on the endeavor also suffered reprisals: Farhadpour and Esmail Mehrabiwho assumed the role of Faramarz, were not denounced for advertising against the regime or forbidden to leave the country, but still respond to the other two cases and were banned from work.
Although they could, the directors said they would not leave Iran – “not for real,” he said Moghadam.
We think we have to stay here and make more movies telling the story of our nation. As we often say: this is like the border of battle. We have to stay here to fight. We cannot move elsewhere and wait for one day to come back. In 45 years, we have lost everything in Iran, our nation, and we hope to recover these things. It’s the least we can do, continue here. – Maryam Moghadam
The speech of Moghadam It remembers, in a way, that of the character Mahin. Her loneliness is built through the death of her husband and the removal of her daughter, who moved to Europe. Like the directors of the feature film, it does not express interest in leaving Iran.
This is how Moghadam and SANAEHA demonstrate “the reality of modern life” in My favorite cake. The question of lonely routine becomes deeper when they give Mahin a distant family and a group of friends who visit it from time to time, indicating at the same time that in some cases this may not be enough.
“No father or mother should expect their children to stay with them forever, because most are not,” he said Maryam. “Having children expecting you to be not alone is just fiction – that’s not real.”
Behtash He added: “Especially in Iran, you see many families who, due to the political problems we live in our country, have to separate and live in distant countries. Unfortunately, this is becoming normal in Iran. Parents communicate with their own Children only by Zoom. Not everyone can return to the country, for political reasons. Sometimes parents do not get the visa for Europe or the United States … So this loneliness is normal for Iranian families. “
Leaving Iran is not a possibility – or even desire – of all young people. “The new generation questions every day why the elders have made the revolution,” he said SANAEHA.
The revolution to which he refers is that of 1979, driven by citizens who asked for freedom and democracy. The people guaranteed a new constitution, which gave rise to the Islamic Republic. However, constant human rights violations have led Iranian protests against the current government.
“We tried to have these two protagonists of a generation that experienced life before the revolution, because we wanted them to know what Iran was like when it was a free country and what social freedom was,” argued the director.
The younger generation is very brave. Young people are trying to change the situation and bring freedom back, while the elders are trying to support them. That is why we chose Faramarz and Mahim to form an older couple: we wanted them to live, one night, all the freedom they had before the revolution. – Behtash Sanaeeha
In My favorite cakeUnlike several other Iranian titles, Mahin’s friends do not use hijab when they gather. On the street, at some point in the movie, a woman leaves part of her hair while walking through a park, until she is approached by the morality police.
The scene was written before the case of Mahsa Aminiwhich generated demonstrations contrary to the Iran regime. The 22 -year -old died in 2022 after being detained by the morality police on the charges that he was not using Hijab correctly.
“We wrote the scene years before that,” he confessed Maryam. “We started recording the movie weeks before the death of Mahsa. This did not happen only once or just with Mahsa. It happens every day. For 45 years, women have been involved in problems as soon as they leave home when they find the morality police. “
They are harassed, stuck, punished by a small piece of hair or something. This is part of what it is to be a woman in Iran. It’s not just about something that happened two years ago. – Maryam Moghadam
No spoilers, SANAEHA He also explained the motivations that led his wife and he finished My favorite cake The way they did, “It’s not a sad ending. It’s a real ending about how important life is and how we should celebrate it.”
My favorite cake It walks through Iranian reality over a night of fiction. The film also demystifies distance between the Middle East and the rest of the world through the portrait of loneliness.
Distributed by Imovision, the feature is on display in theaters from all over Brazil. Check out synopsis and trailer below:
At 70, Mahin has lived alone in Tehran since her husband’s death and the daughter’s departure to Europe. An afternoon tea with friends breaks the lonely routine and revitalizes her love life, but as Mahin opens to a new novel, which begins as an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unpredictable and unforgettable night.
Source: Rollingstone
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
