Steffi Niederzoll delicately and with great care lays out the story of 19-year-old architecture student Reyhaneh Jabbari, who, in 2007, stabbed a man in self-defence after he tried to rape her. Jabbari was then arrested and sentenced to death. During the next seven years of the judicial process, Jabbari’s supporters scramble to save her, revealing the rotten, prejudiced state of Iran’s justice system. Drawing on footage smuggled out of the country, the film includes interviews with Jabbari’s family members and former prison inmates, who bravely criticize Iran’s patriarchal establishment. Both infuriating and heartbreaking, Niederzoll’s film is another reminder of the suffering Iranian women have endured for decades. And of the resilience of those who are still speaking up and sharing their voices and their stories for the world to hear. Seven Winters in Tehran is a compelling true-crime narrative using the facts of the case to call attention to the dissolution of women’s rights in Iran. For those interested in human rights, true-crime, masterful documentaries or cinema that is urgent, compelling and profoundly moving, this is strongly recommended.
Germany/France
2023
Focus
In Farsi with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Melanie Andernach
Producer
Knut Losen
Screenwriter
Steffi Niederzoll
Cinematography
Julia Daschner
Editor
Nicole Kortlüke
Director
Steffi Niederzoll
Steffi Niederzoll was born in Nuremberg in 1981. She studied audiovisual media arts at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) and the Escuela de Cine y Television in Cuba (EICTV) from 2001-2007. Her short films have successfully screened at numerous renowned national and international film festivals such as Berlinale. Together with Shole Pakravan, she wrote the book How to Become a Butterfly, which will be published by Berlin Verlag in 2023.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Time and Water
Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) turns her attentions from volcanoes to glaciers in this singular, personal collaboration with the Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason, who ruminates on the loss of ties to family and to landscape.
Mistura
This foodie film from Peru tells the story of a newly single socialite reinventing herself — and the local cuisine — after her husband has left her for a younger woman. Along the way, she finds support from unexpected places...
Hanami
On the volcanic island Cape Verde, young Nana is on the cusp of self-discovery. When her long-absent mother returns, the lyricism and magic of Nana's childhood take a different shape. Winner of the Best Emerging Director Award, Locarno Film Festival.
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Another World
This hit anime from Hong Kong gives us an unpredictable, sometimes darkly karmic tale taking place on either side of the afterlife involving a headstrong princess with bad karma and the spirit guide who tries to help her get on a better path.