In Seven winters in Tehran The Iranian actress, winner of the recent Cannes Film Festival, lends her voice to the late Reihane Jabari, sentenced to death in Iran, whose broken fate resonates so much with current events.
Tehran, 2007 19-year-old Reyhane Jabari is sentenced to death after stabbing a man who tried to rape her. For seven years he will wait for his verdict and, determined to make the truth heard, he will never agree to negotiate for his life. It is this story of courage and resilience that heralds the revolution that is now taking place that the documentary tells. Seven winters in Tehranconceived from family archives, secretly filmed images and testimonies of the family who will try to save him until the end.
Commentary Award at Cannes 2022 Nights of MashhadIranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, in exile in France since 2008, lends her voice to the late Reihane in this moving and inspiring film that shows and hears the uprising of a people determined to fight for freedom.
In the video, Seven winters in Tehranthe teaser
Miss Figaro. – What did you know about Reyhane’s story? ?
Zar Amir Ebrahimi. – When he was arrested, I was still in Iran and followed his case closely, hoping that, like many Iranians, he would escape punishment. I will never forget the day I woke up to the news of his execution. Reyhane was a huge inspiration for Iranian women, a symbol of female courage, a voice for the oppressed. Today it’s my turn to be her through this film that pays tribute to her powers.
He is a model of honesty. by agreeing to a reconsideration of the attempted rape charge, he could have saved his life…
The attacker and his family were close to the Secret Service, and none of them wanted anything to do with the rape case. He could negotiate, but the truth was more important to him than his own life. The whole system in Iran is against women. they don’t have rights, they have trouble finding lawyers, they are accused of illicit sex when they are raped, and in Reyhane’s case, the first judge, who was considered too impartial, was replaced… Women are secondary characters. in society, and Reyhane knew it. the only basis on which he could win was courage and dignity.
In Iran, maturity and wisdom are the key to our survival. We are twice the age on our papers.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Living under a totalitarian regime makes you grow up faster. ?
Undoubtedly, and even more so for women. In the Middle East, we grew up isolated from the world, with war, revolution, economic problems… Very young, we had to find other ways to live by playing the system. In Iran, maturity and wisdom are the key to our survival. We are twice the age on our papers.
Through this story, a portrait of a progressive family emerges…
I have incredible respect for Reyhane’s father who, when the whole family tried to convince him to lie, said, “He decides. In Iran, fathers control their daughters’ lives out of homosexuality or protection, fearing that something will happen to them. Ten years ago, his reaction was very avant-garde. It is a show of immense love and respect to publicly assume that a woman can make up her own mind.
Reyhane Jabari, who was sentenced to death and executed in 2014 for stabbing a man who tried to rape her in 2007. MS picture
Mother, she became a freedom fighter ?
There is a very strong community of mothers in Iran. their children have been executed or imprisoned, and they are fighting to abolish the death penalty. Shoal is one of them. This film is also about their devotion, which sometimes leads them to jail. I met Scholl in Berlin, where he now lives. i understood where her daughter got her strength and honesty from. I am grateful to him for accepting that I lend my voice to the film. I have many enemies who do not appreciate my way of life, and I did not want to tarnish the memory of his daughter.
Did Reyhane’s story resonate with yours? ?
He was arrested in 2007, a year after my sex tape was released. I feel like I’ve been molested by every single person who’s watched it. And I also tried to resist as much as I could. In Iran, I was a celebrity and, in a sense, a figure of the system because I appeared in state-sanctioned films. So maybe they would leave me alone if I agreed to condemn other people during my seven or eight months of interrogation, or if I begged their forgiveness by calling for suicide and shame. In order to survive, I chose to deny my presence in the video and, using this lie, escaped to save my family and life while awaiting trial.
We cannot trivialize or hide what is happening in Iran, Syria or Afghanistan, because obscurantism can emerge anywhere.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Do you sometimes worry that public opinion will turn a blind eye to the situation in Iran? ?
That’s a risk, and that’s why those with a platform keep talking. We cannot trivialize or hide what is happening in Iran, Syria or Afghanistan, because obscurantism can emerge anywhere. Look at Ukraine, or France with attacks. The world should stand together on these issues, because the struggle for the freedom of the Iranian people is the struggle of all of us. We must isolate the regime. Negotiating with him means establishing his authority. It doesn’t help Iranians who don’t benefit from money or better living conditions.
Do you believe in a better future for Iran?
If Iranians remain united, if they raise children against the regime, if they already think about the world, yes. Even if it doesn’t show every day, the people are revolting against their own skin. Especially young people, who are less afraid because they haven’t been affected by the great dark days we’ve lived through, because they have access to images of the free world. The courage of this hopeful generation infuses society. I don’t know when, but we will win. Not a reform, but a regime change.
Seven winters in Tehran By Steffi Niederzoll.
Source: Le Figaro
