Transcripts, sketches, voice recordings and a reconstructed model of Shahr-e Rey prison in Tehran: as the camera moves through the replicated corridors and bunk beds, we begin to infuse situations that are difficult to portray cinematically for political or moral reasons with our own imaginations.
Aged 19, Reyhaneh survives a sexual assault in Tehran by defending herself against her attacker. The attacker dies and Reyhaneh is arrested and sentenced to death. This initiates a time of worry, mental anguish and a constant struggle to get various courts to act to overturn the sentence. Steffi Niederzoll’s debut impressively shows that violence doesn’t need to be graphically replicated on screen, with other artistic approaches just as capable of highlighting hidden injustices. At the same time, the cry for justice is always also one for Iranian society, which has been asking the rest of the world for protection and vigilance since long before the 2022 protests. Seven Winters in Tehran can therefore also be understood more broadly as a model set up: for one, an example of the violation of the rule of law that has long prevailed in Iran, and for the other, as a depiction of a personal case that will forever resonate in viewers’ minds through the memories of Reyhaneh’s family.