Latest news with #Roustaee
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iranian Director Saeed Roustaee's ‘Woman And Child' Gets 10-Minute Ovation In Cannes Debut
Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee had the afternoon competition slot at the Cannes Film festival for his latest movie Woman and Child, which got an 10-minute ovation after it screened Thursday. Roustaee and star Parinaz Izadyar were among those in attendance for the premiere. More from Deadline 'Woman And Child' Review: Iran's Saeed Roustaee Delivers A Fiery Feminist Portrait Of A Woman Who Refuses To Be Pushed Aside – Cannes Film Festival Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value' Wows Cannes In Premiere, Gets Extraordinary 19-Minute Ovation 'I Only Rest In The Storm' Clip: Portuguese Un Certain Regard Title Delves Into Neo-Colonialism & International NGOs - Cannes A 10 minute standing ovation for Iranian director Saeed Roustayee's 'Woman and Child' starring Parinaz Izadyar | #Cannes2025 — Deadline (@DEADLINE) May 22, 2025 The story follows Mahnaz (Parinaz Izadyar), a 40-year-old widowed nurse who is about to re-marry; she is also struggling with her rebellious son, Aliyar (Sinan Mohebi), who has been suspended from school. Family tensions reach a peak during a betrothal ceremony with her intended Hamid (Payman Maadi), and a tragic accident occurs. In the aftermath, Mahnaz will be forced to confront betrayal and loss, and to embark on a quest for justice. Roustaee has previously said that Mahnaz's character 'screamed in his mind' and told the festival, 'The film tells the story of a woman fighting all the men who made her live in a patriarchal society that deprived her of all her rights, including that of a mother.' Roustaee, who also wrote the screenplay for Woman and Child, was last in the Cannes Film Festival Competition with Leila's Brothers in 2022. That film resulted in a six-month prison sentence and a five-year filming ban for Roustaee as imposed by the Islamic regime. The star of that movie, Taraneh Alidoosti, was sentenced to five years in prison after publishing a photo of herself without her hijab. In both cases, the sentences were eventually lifted. According to the Cannes festival, for Woman and Child, Roustaee complied with certain restrictions, but maintains that he has not made a propaganda film, rather a film about social resistance. Woman and Child is released in France via Diaphana; sales are with Goodfellas. Best of Deadline Every 'The Voice' Winner Since Season 1, Including 9 Team Blake Champions Everything We Know About 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' So Far 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iran's Roustaee concerned about return home despite cautious Cannes film
By Michaela Cabrera and Miranda Murray CANNES, France (Reuters) -Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee said on Friday that he was careful in how he shot his Cannes Film Festival entry "Woman and Child", which never shows women without the mandatory hijab, but was still unsure how he would be received when he returned home. "Last time, they took my passport," said the 35-year-old about his last appearance at the festival in southern France, for competition title "Leila's Brothers" in 2022. "This time, I hope they don't. I just want to go home." Roustaee had also been handed a six-month suspended sentence over that film for showcasing it without Tehran's authorisation. The director said that facing a sentence places a heavy burden not only on the person, but all their friends and family. "Maybe you can handle it yourself, but when you see that your elderly parents can't, it hurts more," he told journalists. His new film, "Woman and Child," stars Parinaz Izadyar as single mother Mahnaz, whose decision to marry her boyfriend Hamid kicks off a series of events culminating in tragedy. Roustaee obtained a permit for the new film, because without it, there was no way he was going to be able to shoot, he said. "I don't know to what extent I'm self-censoring, but ultimately, I live in Iran," the director said. "I'm making films in Iran, and I very much want people to see my films on the big screen. So probably, I am observing certain boundaries so that my films can make it to the screen." "Woman and Child," which premiered on Thursday, is one of two Iranian films competing for the Palme d'Or top prize this year, the other being "It Was Just An Accident" by Jafar Panahi. Panahi, who does not apply for government approval, also plans to return to Iran to begin work on his new film even though he only recently was allowed to travel after 15 years. In total, 22 films are competing for the award this year.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Iran's Roustaee concerned about return home despite cautious Cannes film
FILE PHOTO: Director Saeed Roustayi attends a press conference for the film \"Woman and Child\" (Zan o bacheh) in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo CANNES, France - Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee said on Friday that he was careful in how he shot his Cannes Film Festival entry "Woman and Child", which never shows women without the mandatory hijab, but was still unsure how he would be received when he returned home. "Last time, they took my passport," said the 35-year-old about his last appearance at the festival in southern France, for competition title "Leila's Brothers" in 2022. "This time, I hope they don't. I just want to go home." Roustaee had also been handed a six-month suspended sentence over that film for showcasing it without Tehran's authorisation. The director said that facing a sentence places a heavy burden not only on the person, but all their friends and family. "Maybe you can handle it yourself, but when you see that your elderly parents can't, it hurts more," he told journalists. His new film, "Woman and Child," stars Parinaz Izadyar as single mother Mahnaz, whose decision to marry her boyfriend Hamid kicks off a series of events culminating in tragedy. Roustaee obtained a permit for the new film, because without it, there was no way he was going to be able to shoot, he said. "I don't know to what extent I'm self-censoring, but ultimately, I live in Iran," the director said. "I'm making films in Iran, and I very much want people to see my films on the big screen. So probably, I am observing certain boundaries so that my films can make it to the screen." "Woman and Child," which premiered on Thursday, is one of two Iranian films competing for the Palme d'Or top prize this year, the other being "It Was Just An Accident" by Jafar Panahi. Panahi, who does not apply for government approval, also plans to return to Iran to begin work on his new film even though he only recently was allowed to travel after 15 years. In total, 22 films are competing for the award this year. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Woman And Child' Director Saeed Roustaee Hints At Fears Of Arrest In Iran Over Cannes Film: 'I Hope I'll Be Able To Go Back Safely'
Saeed Roustaee has revealed that he wonders whether he will be arrested on his return to his native Iran following the premiere of his female-focused drama Mother and Child in Competition in Cannes this week. 'The last time I went back, my passport was confiscated. I hope I'll be able to go back safely. I don't know whether I'll be arrested but I certainly hope not,' the Iranian director told the press conference for the film on Friday. More from Deadline 'Woman And Child' Review: Iran's Saeed Roustaee Delivers A Fiery Feminist Portrait Of A Woman Who Refuses To Be Pushed Aside – Cannes Film Festival Iranian Director Saeed Roustaee's 'Woman And Child' Gets 10-Minute Ovation In Cannes Debut Iranian 'My Favourite Cake' Filmmakers Receive Suspended Jail Sentence & Fines For Showing Actress Without Hijab Roustaee fell foul of Iran's Islamic Regime authorities in 2023, after he screened his last film Leila's Brothers in Cannes without their permission. As well as being slapped with a travel ban, he was sentenced to six-month prison sentence and a five-year shooting ban, which were commuted on appeal. Roustaee has returned to the festival with the legal permits in place, and a film shot in adherence with the regime's stipulation that women must appear on screen with a hijab head covering, regardless of whether the scene is in a public place or private setting. This move has drawn criticism from parts of the Iranian filmmaking community in the light of the Women Life Freedom movement calling for democracy for women in Iran, and Roustaee faced tough questions at the press conference, with one journalist asking him if he was self-censoring. Roustaee replied his storytelling followed in a tradition of other Iranian directors who have sought to make social films over the last 45 years, implying since the event of the Islamic Republic in 1979. 'I don't know, whether I am self-censoring myself. I'm 35 years old. I've lived in Iran for 35 years. I'm familiar with Iranian cinema and I'm a result of this social cinema that we've had for the last 45 years. I'm following in the footsteps of other Iranian film makers. This is a tradition I've inherited,' he said. 'I don't know to what extent I indulge in self-censorship, but I do make my films in Iran, and I would like Iranians to be able to go to see my movies in a movie theaters in Iran. So, no doubt I'm careful about certain things to ensure that my film will be released.' Quizzed about the harsh vision of Iranian society that his film depicts, with a glimmer of hope at the end, Roustaee said: ' If my films are bitter, that reflects Iranian society, if Iranian society was very well and happy, then I would make a portrait of that society.' Best of Deadline Every 'The Voice' Winner Since Season 1, Including 9 Team Blake Champions Everything We Know About 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' So Far 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Woman and Child' Review: In Iran, a Single Mom Pushes Back on the Patriarchy in Nonsensical, Self-Destructive Ways
One of the thrills of watching what we once called 'foreign' films is discovering a movie from an entirely different culture and realizing just how similar we all are: Our dreams aren't so different, nor the things that make us laugh or cry. But there's always the risk of having the opposite experience, bumping up against a story where nothing corresponds and the behavior seems so illogical or inexplicable that we may as well be watching science fiction. Iranian director Saeed Roustaee's 'Woman and Child' strikes me that way, despite the fact it takes place in a modern metropolis and hails from a director with the most Hollywood touch of his compatriots. Returning to Cannes after being censured for his 2022 film 'Leila's Brothers,' Roustaee seems undeterred by the six-month prison sentence and since-lifted filmmaking ban the regime imposed on him. No surprise, Iranian authorities don't take well to Roustaee's brand of feminism — this is the third feature of his, starting with 'Life and a Day,' to center on a resilient and fairly independent woman — although he's managed to upset the other side as well by making this film with government approval. That means 'Woman and Child' was produced within certain constraints, including laws requiring its female characters to wear the hijab, even if its lead character Mahnaz ('Life and a Day' star Parinaz Izadyar) would surely object to doing so in real life. Could her haircut be taken as an act of protest? More from Variety Iranian Director Saeed Roustayee on Making 'Woman and Child' With a Government Permit and Hijabs: I Wouldn't 'Have Been Able to Make a Film of This Scale Underground' Elle Fanning Declares 'Joachim Trier Summer' at Cannes Amid 'Sentimental Value' Raves, Says She's 'Grown in My Autonomy and Speaking Up' as an Actor 'The Six Billion Dollar Man' Review: Straight-Ahead Julian Assange Doc Looks Pessimistically Toward a Post-Truth World Since her husband's death, Manhaz has been raising her two children on her own, while juggling a demanding nursing job at the nearby hospital, where she flirts with a freelance ambulance driver named Hamid (Payman Maadi, who's starred in all four of Roustaee's movies). Her son Aliyar (Sinan Mohebi) is just a teenager, but already a little hellion, showing up late to class in order to shoot dice at a local factory — one of a long list of infractions that gets him suspended for a week by Samkhanian (Maziar Seyedi) at school. Iran has different laws and customs, of course, but it's not exactly clear what's expected of a widow in Mahnaz's situation. Is she supposed to take care of her father-in-law (Hassan Pourshirazi), or the other way around? Is there pressure to remarry, or would Mahnaz's plans to do so with Hamid be considered controversial? If the couple goes through with it and starts having children right away (as Hamid wants to), what will become of the kids from Mahnaz's first marriage? It's not unusual for a culture to have certain expectations about such things, but it can be disorienting when a film fails to make them clear. Instead of doing anything to correct her delinquent son, Mahnaz coddles the boy and resents those who attempt to discipline him. That's grossly understating the issue, since something horrible happens to Aliyar, though this twist is so extreme and unexpected, the movie may as well have entered a soap opera-esque parallel dimension when it happens. Mahnaz is supposed to be celebrating her engagement ceremony, but she's not ready for her kids to know, so she entrusts them to the old man. Bad decision in a film that contains few good ones. Roustaee treats 'Woman and Child' as a tragedy, showing how everything Mahnaz does to make life better for her family seems to take them in the opposite direction. The relationship with Hamid hardly seems like a love story, but turns sour when Hamid meets Mahnaz's much younger sister Mehri (Soha Niasti) and rethinks his proposal. In theory, one could blame Iranian society for providing so few pathways for someone of her gender, age and class, but Mahnaz has no power to change the system, so she's left swinging at anyone within reach. In other words, if you can't challenge the Man, then you'll have to settle for going after the men who are oppressing you. After Aliyar's accident, Mahnaz lashes out, ramming her car into Samkhanian, who suspended him at school. She turns vindictive toward Hamid, who'd been charging homeless families to sleep in his ambulance, threatening to destroy his business. And in a scene of anti-patriarchal fury the likes of which Iranian cinema seldom allows, she all but murders her father-in-law after discovering how he'd used a belt to whip Aliyar without her permission. Mahnaz is woman, hear her roar. And yet, none of her actions makes the slightest sense, while the men still have the upper hand: They can lodge a complaint and have her deprived of custody. What sets Roustaee's previous films apart is the way he collapses the distance between Iranian culture and the Western world. His style — with its dynamic camera, efficient editing and plot-driven storytelling — feels much closer to American studio movies, compared to the relatively allegorical approach of other Iranian directors looking to critique the regime without signing their own death warrants. While that should make 'Woman and Child' more relatable, the psychology simply doesn't add up. Instead of kinship, audiences are likely to feel confusion, as Mahnaz behaves in increasingly self-destructive, irrational ways en route to an ending that provides relief, but no real resolution. Best of Variety The Best Albums of the Decade
