Women’s Prison
(2002)First Run Features
Banned in Iran, this taboo-breaking film is based on director Manijeh Hekmat's extensive fieldwork among women prisoners in Iran. She depicts the lives of Iran's lost generation in the two decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, using the claustrophobic life of women behind bars as a metaphor for Iranian society.
The film opens in 1984 as a new warden, Sister Tahereh Yousefi, is brought into a Tehran prison to suppress an impending riot. She makes some immediate demands for change and reform, but the prisoners refuse to give way. Mitra, in prison for killing her violent stepfather, is particularly uninterested in Tahereh’s promised improvements and continues to speak out about the prison’s horrible conditions.
The story picks up in the spring of 1992. Mitra’s relationship with Tahereh remains volatile and is characterized by recurring arguments and repeated visits to solitary confinement. In contrast, Mitra has strengthened her bond with her fellow inmates, who have grown to respect and appreciate her nurturing presence and steadfast leadership.
The final segment of the film takes place in the winter of 2001. Mitra appears tired and reserved after years of battling authority, while Tahereh seems to have relaxed in her treatment of the prisoners. In the end Tahereh procures Mitra’s release, and as Mitra walks into the light of day the doors close ominously behind her, leaving Tahereh alone in the darkness of the prison, now more like a prisoner herself.
Although Manijeh Hekmat has been in the film business for over 20 years (as producer, assistant director and production manager), she faced a number of problems in making Women’s Prison. "As a first-time director, I had to get a particular permit from the Iranian Society of Film Directors and they denied granting such a permit, although I was qualified for the Society's conditions." Eventually, she obtained the permit in the name of her husband Jamshid Ahangarani (the film's art director).
Ironically, Hekmat nearly found herself on the wrong side of the prison bars after finishing her controversial film. When it was excluded from Tehran's 2002 Fajr Film Festival, many foreign guests clamored to see the film, and Hekmat was threatened with arrest if she dared to arrange a private screening. Ultimately, tapes of the film made their way to selectors from various international film festivals and the director's cut of Women’s Prison made its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September 2002.
The film has since screened at more than 50 international film festivals, receiving critical acclaim for its thoughtful look at the lives of women prisoners within the social, political, and historical context of Iran. With pressure from reformists in the Iranian government and support from many members of the Majlis as well as President Khatami himself, a censored version of Women’s Prison finally opened in Tehran on August 7, 2002. In spite of not being allowed to have television teasers, the film set new box office records for an opening in the post-Revolutionary era.
The film opens in 1984 as a new warden, Sister Tahereh Yousefi, is brought into a Tehran prison to suppress an impending riot. She makes some immediate demands for change and reform, but the prisoners refuse to give way. Mitra, in prison for killing her violent stepfather, is particularly uninterested in Tahereh’s promised improvements and continues to speak out about the prison’s horrible conditions.
The story picks up in the spring of 1992. Mitra’s relationship with Tahereh remains volatile and is characterized by recurring arguments and repeated visits to solitary confinement. In contrast, Mitra has strengthened her bond with her fellow inmates, who have grown to respect and appreciate her nurturing presence and steadfast leadership.
The final segment of the film takes place in the winter of 2001. Mitra appears tired and reserved after years of battling authority, while Tahereh seems to have relaxed in her treatment of the prisoners. In the end Tahereh procures Mitra’s release, and as Mitra walks into the light of day the doors close ominously behind her, leaving Tahereh alone in the darkness of the prison, now more like a prisoner herself.
Although Manijeh Hekmat has been in the film business for over 20 years (as producer, assistant director and production manager), she faced a number of problems in making Women’s Prison. "As a first-time director, I had to get a particular permit from the Iranian Society of Film Directors and they denied granting such a permit, although I was qualified for the Society's conditions." Eventually, she obtained the permit in the name of her husband Jamshid Ahangarani (the film's art director).
Ironically, Hekmat nearly found herself on the wrong side of the prison bars after finishing her controversial film. When it was excluded from Tehran's 2002 Fajr Film Festival, many foreign guests clamored to see the film, and Hekmat was threatened with arrest if she dared to arrange a private screening. Ultimately, tapes of the film made their way to selectors from various international film festivals and the director's cut of Women’s Prison made its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September 2002.
The film has since screened at more than 50 international film festivals, receiving critical acclaim for its thoughtful look at the lives of women prisoners within the social, political, and historical context of Iran. With pressure from reformists in the Iranian government and support from many members of the Majlis as well as President Khatami himself, a censored version of Women’s Prison finally opened in Tehran on August 7, 2002. In spite of not being allowed to have television teasers, the film set new box office records for an opening in the post-Revolutionary era.
posted by Ray Young at
6:43 AM
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