Venice’s ‘The Witness’
Adds Sales, Trailer Debuts, Director Talks Iran Situation, Working With Jafar Panahi (EXCLUSIVE)


By Marta Balaga, Variety
Sep 1, 2024

“The Witness,” premiering at the Venice Film Festival, has sold to Benelux (Edgy), France (Jour2fete) and No.mad Entertainment (Italy). The film’s German distributor is Missing Films as previously reported. The film, which is directed by Nader Saeivar, and co-written by Saeivar and Jafar Panahi, is debuting its trailer (below).
 
“I’ve been working with Jafar Panahi since 2017 and ‘3 Faces.’ He taught me it’s possible to make a good film with a small group of people, in secret. Perhaps this type of filmmaking was actually invented by Panahi himself?” wondered Saeivar. Repeatedly persecuted and arrested, Panahi was recently released from jail in 2023 after he went on hunger strike.
 
“I am proud he’s been by my side, like a teacher, in all three films I’ve made. I learnt not to be afraid, not to make excuses and just make movies.”


The Witness ; Courtesy of ArtHood Films
 
In “The Witness,” a retired dance teacher claims her friend was murdered by her violent – and powerful – husband. The police refuse to investigate and her own family would like her to keep quiet. But Tarlan (Maryam Bobani) won’t give up that easily.
 
“Iranian women’s struggle for freedom reached its peak during the Iranian Revolution of 1978. Unfortunately, it was stifled right at the beginning. By choosing an elderly woman as the protagonist, I wanted to show the continuation of this movement,” said Saeivar.
 
But the fight itself has actually changed a lot.
 
“Now, there’s no sign of violence. This generation has started the fight by dancing and it wants to win it by dancing. They aren’t afraid and they’re joyful.”
 
In the film, it’s not just men who try to control women, however.

“There are many traditional, religious women in Iran. They live in small towns and villages, and believe they should live their lives just like their mothers. They believe that politics is not their business. The ones you see in the media, who bravely say no to tyranny and fascism, don’t represent all Iranian women. But they are undoubtedly among the best.”
 
Saeivar, who gave “The Witness” a thriller-ish twist, doesn’t want to make films just for “ten days of a festival.”
 
“I would like it to ‘circulate’ among people and have more viewers. Also, I am not in a position to tell festival audiences anything. They probably know more about the situation in Iran than I do. Instead, I’m talking to the audience in small towns, who buy tickets, because they need to be more aware of what’s happening to Iranian women.”
 
His leading lady can’t count on anyone helping her out. That doesn’t stop her – neither do threats and constant bullying.
 
“It’s true. She doesn’t give up, but she didn’t choose the right way to fight. When she smiles at the end of the movie, it’s hopeful: this new generation will continue [what she’s doing], but they will do it in their own way. I believe that’s the only way to save Iran: we have to abstain from any violence,” stresses Saeivar.
 
Still, he doesn’t think the situation will change anytime soon.
 
“I think it will get worse.”
 
“Of course, this doesn’t mean we should despair and stop fighting. It means we should continue on,” he adds, underlining that Iranian artists and filmmakers need the world to react to all the injustice that’s happening to them.
 
“We hope a day will come when Iranian artists get basic rights,” he notes.
 
“The government is clinging to Iran like an octopus and it’s very difficult to remove its thousands of hands, and feet, from this country’s sick body. In order to survive, sometimes you have to retreat and then attack again to recapture the position you lost.”

“When artists unite and raise their voices, the government backs down a little. But as all the noise subsides, the same strict and authoritarian rules return very quickly. We have been playing this game for as long as I can remember.”

“The Witness” was produced by Said Nur Akkus and Silvana Santamaria for ArtHood Films, which is also handling sales, Arash T. Riahi and Sabine Grüber for Golden Girls Films and Emre Oskay and Timur Savci for Sky Films.