Cinema CNC hosts the Amnesty International screening of ROSEWATER
Admission is by donation to Amnesty International Canada
Showtime: 7 pm in room 1-306 at CNC
ROSEWATER
Director: Jon Stewart USA, 2014 English 103 minutes
Principal Cast: Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Haluk Bilginer, Shohreh Aghdashloo
In 2009, Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was covering Iran’s volatile elections for Newsweek. One of the few reporters living in the country with access to US media, he also appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in a taped interview with comedian Jason Jones. The interview was intended as satire, but if the Tehran authori- ties got the joke they didn’t like it — and that bit of comedy would come back to haunt Bahari when he was rousted from his family home and thrown into prison.
In a remarkable stroke, Stewart himself took up Bahari’s story. Making his directorial debut, the iconic media satirist crafts Rosewater as a chronicle of journalism in conflict with political power, seen through the prism of memory. Bahari’s interrogator wears a strong rosewater scent that immedi- ately reminds him of his childhood. Isolated in prison, Bahari finds refuge in recollections of Leonard Cohen music and conversations with his politically engaged father.
Stewart’s skill in his long-running television show has been to champion ideals of democracy, transparency and freedom of expression by cracking jokes every time those ideals are compromised — which is daily. With Rosewater, he takes a more sincere approach. Although there are glimpses of his trademark wit, Stewart directs the film with emotion and dramatic engagement designed to reach the widest audience possible.
The trailer
The trailer
