Film critiquing Iranian death penalty wins Berlin’s Golden Bear
BERLIN: A drama film shot in secret to evade government censorship that highlights the moral dilemmas faced by those caught in the web of Iran’s capital punishment machine won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear award on Saturday.
There Is No Evil explores the moral dilemmas thrust on those who carry out executions and the consequences of defiance for them and those around them.
Director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose film shows that there are costs to both bravery and cowardice, was not allowed to leave Iran to pick up the award: he faces propaganda charges over his earlier films.
His daughter Baran, who stars in one chapter of the four-part film, picked up the award on his behalf in the German capital.
“This film is about people taking responsibility,” he said. “I wanted to talk about people who push responsibility away from themselves and say that the decision is taken by higher powers. But they can actually say no, and that’s their strength.”
Shot indoors, at night, or in remote rural locations to avoid catching authorities’ attention, the film carried risks for cast and crew who had themselves taken a decision to “put their lives in danger to make this film,” said producer Farzad Pak.
Rights groups say Iran executed at least 227 people in 2019. Capital crimes include “insulting the Prophet”, samesex relations, adultery and non-violent drug offences, according to Human Rights Watch.