ROSEWATER
103 minutes
Click image for trailer.
Friday, December 5 – 7 pm
Saturday, December 6 – 3 & 7 pm
Sunday, December 7– 3 & 7 pm
Wednesday – December 10 – 7 pm
Thursday – December 11 – 7 pm
Rosewater is based on The New York Times best-selling memoir “Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival,” written by Maziar Bahari. The film marks the directorial debut of “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, and stars Gael García Bernal. Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC. Bahari was arrested by police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who tortured and interrogated him over the next 118 days. With Bahari’s wife leading an international campaign to have her husband freed, and Western media outlets keeping the story alive, Iranian authorities released Bahari on $300,000 bail and the promise he would act as a spy for the government. (C) Open Road Films
Insider’s tip: An engaging and moving film, ROSEWATER has received critical acclaim for its artistic and cinematographic portrayal of this page in history. The cast, acting and screenplay are superb. An excellent debut for director Jon Stewart.