TIFF 2024 _{(SEPT 5 - 15)}
Seven Days :: Haft Rooz :: WORLD PREMIERE

Germany | 2024 | 113m | Farsi

By Dorota Lech, Toronto International Film Festival

A gripping portrayal of resistance, sacrifice, and the power of family ties that bind us, it is a testament to the enduring spirit of those brave individuals who fight for a better future, even at the expense of their own freedom.

Seven Days, Ali Samadi Ahadi’s latest, explores an agonizing struggle. When imprisoned human rights activist Maryam is granted a rare medical leave, she has the chance to escape Iran but at the expense of her battle for equality and democracy.



In Ali Samadi Ahadi’s latest, 46-year-old Iranian human rights activist Maryam (Vishka Asayesh), who has spent the last six years in prison, has been granted a rare seven-day medical leave. Unbeknownst to the authorities, her brother Nima (Sina Parvaneh) and her husband Behnam (Majid Bakhtiari) have devised a daring plan to smuggle Maryam out of Iran and reunite her with her family. Maryam’s long-suffering partner and their children, now living in exile in Germany, are preparing for a last-minute, clandestine trip to Turkey, where they hope Maryam will find them.

Assisted by Zanyar (Zanyar Mohammadi), a teacher involved in underground escape networks, Maryam’s journey begins with a treacherous two-day hike through snow-covered mountains. Once there, with time already slipping, Maryam must decide whether to take the opportunity of escaping to freedom with her family or returning to her prison cell and continuing her uphill battle for equality and democracy.

Written by Mohammad Rasoulof — also at the Festival with The Seed of the Sacred Fig — and shot by Mathias Neumann, Seven Days perfectly captures the personal costs of the struggle for human rights. A gripping portrayal of resistance, sacrifice, and the power of family ties that bind us, it is a testament to the enduring spirit of those brave individuals who fight for a better future, even at the expense of their own freedom.

Impeccably crafted and concerning the most noble and universal of all causes, Samadi Ahadi’s film is unmissable for citizens and cinephiles alike. (DOROTA LECH)