Born in Evin

Winner of the 25th Anniversary Berlin & Beyond Film Festival San Francisco’s 2021 Audience Award in the Documentary Feature category. Statement by Director Maryam Zaree: “So often we tend not to listen to the stories of survivors of atrocities, because they challenge and frighten us. That the audience not only watched our film but also honored it with this award therefore means a lot to me. I truly believe that by daring to face the crimes of the past, we’re able to create a future, where our mutual humanity defeats our dividedness. Thank you very much!”

Follow filmmaker and actress, Maryam Zaree, on her quest to find out the violent circumstances surrounding her birth inside one of the most notorious political jails in the world: Evin Prison, in Tehran, Iran. Maryam’s parents were imprisoned shortly after Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, a period in which tens of thousands of political dissidents were arrested and tortured. On this vulnerable, lyrical journey Maryam considers the impact of trauma on the bodies and souls of survivors and their children, leading her to question how her generation can relate to their own history while also respecting the people they love as they prefer to heal in silence. Winner Best Film, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Berlinale 2019.