Jon Stewart recently stepped out from behind the desk at The Daily Show to tackle Rosewater, his directorial debut. Back in 2009, Stewart interviewed journalist Maziar Bahari on his show, the footage of which would eventually be used as “evidence” that Bahari was working with an American spy and led to his imprisonment and torture in Iran for over 100 days. The drama, which follows Bahari’s struggle to keep hope alive behind bars, stars Gael García Bernal. The film opens in Chicago on November 14, but The A.V. Club has an opportunity for you to attend a free early screening on November 11. For a chance to win screening passes, follow the link here and enter your contact information. Remember, seating is first come, first serve, so arrive early! A trailer and synopsis for the film can be found below.
“The feature film 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 the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari. Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as “Rosewater,” who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days.”