Q&A with Steffi Niederzoll and Tara Sepehri Far, Senior Researcher, Middle East & North Africa division, Human Rights Watch. Moderated by Nilo Tabrizy, Visual Forensics Reporter at The Washington Post.

Ticketholders for this screening are invited afterwards to the festival’s opening-night reception in the Furman Gallery.

U.S. Premiere

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.

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 Tamés, Deputy Director, Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

This film is captioned and audio-described; the discussion panel following the film will be live-captioned.

Seven Winters in Tehran also screens digitally nationwide between June 5 – 11 on HRWFF’s digital streaming platform. Watch here.