“It takes great courage to open one's heart and mind to the tremendous injustice and suffering in our world.” ― Vincent A. Gallagher, author
Premiering November 14th, Rosewater is based on the best-selling memoir "Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival by Maziar Bahari. Screenwriter, comedian, actor, producer and host of "The Daily Show" Jon Stewart makes his directorial debut. Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, (Gael García Bernal) a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship through months of terrifying injustice.
Bahari returned to Iran in June of 2009 to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the rival of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi's supporters began to protest Ahmadinejad's victory hours before ballots were counted or polls closed, Bahari endangered his own life to send footage of intense rioting to the BBC. Soon after, Bahari was arrested by police, and placed under interrogation by an unidentified man who called himself "Rosewater". For the next 118 days, Bahari was imprisoned and systematically tortured. Following an international plea led by Bahari's wife, igniting media outrage in the West, Iranian authorities finally released Bahari on $300,000 bail with an understanding he would spy for their country.
Rosewater is an unflinching first-hand account of tyranny, oppression and disturbing abuse of political power. It is a story for all times, all nations, all people standing up for their rights everywhere in the world. Released by Open Road Films OddLot Entertainment, Rosewater features Kim Bodnia, Halah Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Golshifteh Farahani, Dimitri Leonidas, Claire Foy, Nasser Faris, Miles Jupp.
