English below

Etter et jobbmøte blir 19 år gamle Reyhaneh utsatt for et voldtektsforsøk og ender opp med å ta livet av sin overgriper. Når familien hennes finner ut at mannen er tilknyttet etterretningstjenesten i Iran, skjønner de at håpet for at datteren skal komme ut fra fengsel i livet er forsvinnende liten. Selv om utgangspunktet er håpløst og dystert, får vi se et portrett av en ung kvinne og en familie full av livskraft. Med blant annet en rekke mobilklipp som har blitt smuglet ut av Iran og de vakre brevene fra Reyhaneh til familien hennes (opplest i filmen av Holy Spider-skuespiller Zar Amir Ebrahimi) som sterke virkemidler, er dette både en rå og poetisk filmopplevelse.

«Handling this subject matter with care and consideration, Niederzoll offers a masterclass in documentary filmmaking whilst telling the inspirational story of one woman’s life.»

– Oliva Savage, Loud and Clear –

Steffi Niederzoll (f. 1981) er en tysk regissør og forfatter. Kortfilmene hennes har blitt vist ved flere internasjonale festivaler. Sammen med Shole Pakravan skrev hun boken How to Become a Butterfly, om Reyhaneh Jabbari. Seven Winters in Tehran er hennes først fullengdes dokumentarfilm.

One of this year's best documentaries tells the story of Reyhaneh Jabbari and her shocking encounter with the highly misogynistic legal system in Iran in a gripping and poetic manner.

After a work meeting, 19-year-old Reyhaneh is subjected to an attempted rape and ends up killing her assailant. When her family finds out that the man that assaulted her was connected to the intelligence service in Iran, they realize that the hope that their daughter will get out of prison alive is vanishingly small. Although the starting point is without hope, we get to see a portrait of a young woman and a family full of vitality. With, among other things, a number of mobile phone clips that have been smuggled out of Iran and the beautiful letters from Reyhaneh to her family (read in the film by Holy Spider actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi) as powerful tools, this is truly a both raw and poetic film experience.

«Handling this subject matter with care and consideration, Niederzoll offers a masterclass in documentary filmmaking whilst telling the inspirational story of one woman’s life.»

– Oliva Savage, Loud and Clear –

Steffi Niederzoll (b. 1981) is a German director and writer. Her short films have been shown at several international festivals. Together with Shole Pakravan, she wrote the book How to Become a Butterfly, about Reyhaneh Jabbari. Seven Winters in Tehran is her first full-length documentary film.

//Omtale Jon Sæter//