BoomGen Studios was named in 2006 after the enormous youth population stretching from the mountains of Central Asia to the Atlantic shore (via North Africa)—a generation that would come to change the face of this vast region and the world. For the second time this year, BoomGen is working on a project that goes to the core of our founding. The first was Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning documentary The Square. The second, out in theaters on November 14th, is the directorial debut of Jon Stewart (The Daily Show): Rosewater. Needless to say, we are excited.
“Like The Daily Show, Rosewater leavens a somber reality with humor,” said the LA Times, noting that the film “walks the same line Stewart’s Comedy Central show does in acknowledging both the gravity and the absurdity of world events.”
Based on the gripping memoir by Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, Rosewater takes us into the harrowing true story of his arrest in the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 uprisings over the controversial re-election of incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It stars acclaimed actor Gael Garcia Bernal as Bahari, Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani as Bahari’s sister, Oscar-nominated actress Shohreh Agdashloo as his mother, and Kim Bodnia as Bahari’s interrogator, Rosewater.
In all, Bahari endured 118 days of imprisonment and brutal torture, most of it in solitary confinement. In a bizarre “truth is stranger than fiction” direct connection to Stewart, footage from this mock interview Bahari gave on The Daily Show was later used as evidence against him by Iranian authorities:
Rosewater premiered to sold-out audiences, Oscar buzz and standing ovations at the Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. Variety calls the film “a solid, powerfully acted political drama about human endurance in the face of ideological oppression,” pointing out that “with utmost respect for the Iranian people, Rosewater gazes out at a nation flirting perilously with a new era of social liberties and finds glimmer of hope in the darkness.”
Be sure to catch this timely and powerful film when it hits select theaters nationwide on November 14. To find out more, check back here for updates as they happen. You can also follow BoomGen and Rosewater on Twitter and like the film’s Facebook page to receive general updates and to engage in the conversation.
