06/09/2024 - VENICE 2024: Iranian director Nader Saeivar celebrates the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in his tale of an elderly teacher seeking justice

Tarlan Ghorbani (Maryam Bobani) is an elderly teacher at an Iranian girl’s school, a union member and a women’s activist since the Iranian Revolution. She has been to prison so often that her biological son resents her. She is also the protagonist of Nader Saeivar’s drama The Witness [+see also:
trailer
interview: Nader Saeivar
film profile], which has premiered in the Orizzonti Extra section of the 81st Venice Film Festival.

Being a “witness” does not only refer to the almost 50 years of repression; it is also connected to Tarlan’s foster daughter Zara (Hana Kamkar). The passionate dancer, who also runs a little dance studio, fills Tarlan with pride. She is, however, causing problems elsewhere. Back in the day, when Zara’s husband, Solat, was a nobody, he was happy with her being the breadwinner for the family, which also includes Zara’s daughter Ghazal (Ghazal Shojaei). Now that he has a job with ties to the government, her dancing has become a nuisance, a liberal pipe dream that has to cease.

“If she obeys me, she will have a happy life,” he states to Tarlan, who has come to talk to him at Zara’s behest. The bruises on her body speak to the fact that the home life of a traditional Iranian wife is not what she wants to settle for. Dancing without a hijab is a popular contemporary form of nonviolent protest on social media, yet a dangerous one. As the film shows in the end credits, many of these women have been killed. While this type of protest is mostly associated with young women, Saeivar has chosen an elderly woman as his protagonist, allowing him to build a bridge between the Revolution of 1978 and the current movement.

When Zara turns up dead as well, Solat suggests that she took her own life after being in an unhappy affair with another man. But Tarlan suspects something else. A few days earlier, when letting herself into Solat’s house, she saw a lifeless body in his bedroom, before being ushered out by him. “A friend of his” was the explanation. Now, Tarlan is having suspicions that the body could have been someone else entirely and that the supposed suicide was actually murder.

But in modern-day Iran, nobody is interested in hearing about a man killing his dancing, possibly unfaithful wife. When Tarlan does call the police, there are repercussions. Not only is Solat talking about a smear campaign, but her son and some shady government officials are trying to put a stop to her inquiries. While these men in suits do instil uneasiness, it is the elusive allegiances with allies and family, the lies being spread and the general hopelessness that weigh down on the protagonist.

Having written the script with the “godfather” of Iranian underground cinema, Jafar Panahi, who also served as the movie’s editor, Saeivar offers a pointed observation of the stifling of female voices. As Tarlan is ready to bring Zara’s murderer to justice, the movie opens up a debate on what form this justice can take. Is it violence against violence? Revenge driven by decades-old anger? Or will Tarlan take a leaf out of Ghazal’s book? Will she be like the younger generation and keep on going with her head held high, no matter how many blows are still out there waiting for her?

The Witness was produced by Germany’s ArtHood Films, Austria’s Golden Girls Films and Turkey’s Sky Films. It is being sold internationally by ArtHood Entertainment.