Yalda, la nuit du pardon
Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness
Sadaf Asgari, Fereshteh Hosseini
Yalda, la nuit du pardon | Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness by Massoud Bakhshi
FRA, DEU, CHE, LUX, LBN, IRN 2019, Generation
© JBA Production
Behnaz Jafari, Sadaf Asgari
Yalda, la nuit du pardon | Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness by Massoud Bakhshi
FRA, DEU, CHE, LUX, LBN, IRN 2019, Generation
© JBA Production
Sadaf Asgari
Yalda, la nuit du pardon | Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness by Massoud Bakhshi
FRA, DEU, CHE, LUX, LBN, IRN 2019, Generation
© JBA Production
The spotlights and cameras are all in position. The moderator takes a last quick look at his notes. The final seconds of the intro ad roll by – 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – and then the reality TV show goes live. Televised on the night of Yalda, of all days, a Persian celebration of the winter solstice. Tonight’s guest is Maryam, a young woman condemned to death. She is accompanied in studio by Mona, who has always been like a big sister to her. Maryam was living with Mona’s father in a temporary, marriage. Now she stands accused of his murder. In front of the camera and millions of viewers, Maryam is supposed to beg for forgiveness and her life. Alluding to a real, popular Iranian TV Show, the television studio serves as a stage for a chamber play that also explores the social dimensions behind the personal drama.
With
- Sadaf Asgari (Maryam)
- Behnaz Jafari (Mona)
- Babak Karimi (Ayat)
- Fereshteh Sadr Orafaee (Mother)
- Forough Ghajebeglou (Keshavarz)
- Arman Darvish (Omid)
- Fereshteh Hosseini (Anar)
Crew
| Written and Directed by | Massoud Bakhshi |
| Cinematography | Julian Atanassov |
| Editing | Jacques Comets |
| Sound Design | Dana Farzanehpour, Denis Sechaud |
| Production Design | Mahmoud Bakhshi |
| Costumes | Rana Amini |
| Make-Up | Leila Sani |
| Producers | Jacques Bidou, Marianne Dumoulin |
| Co-Producers | Nicole Gerhards, Joëlle Bertossa, Flavia Zanon, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Georges Schoucair, Fred Premel, Ali Mosaffa |
| Co-Production |
Niko Film Berlin Close Up Films Genf Amour Fou Luxembourg Ettelbruck Shortcut Films Beirut Tita B Productions Douarnenez Ali Mosaffa Productions Teheran ZDF Arte Mainz RTS SRG SSR Bern VOO Be TV Lüttich |
World sales
Pyramide International
Produced by
JBA Production
Behnaz Jafari, Fereshteh Hosseini
The two protagonists at the Photo Call.
Yalda, la nuit du pardon · Generation · Feb 23, 2020
Massoud Bakhshi, Behnaz Jafari, Babak Karimi, Maryanne Redpath, Fereshteh Hosseini
The actors with the director (left) and the section head (second from right).
Yalda, la nuit du pardon · Generation · Feb 23, 2020
Massoud Bakhshi
The director in the b-ware! Ladenkino.
Yalda, la nuit du pardon · Generation · Berlinale Goes Kiez · Feb 26, 2020
Anne Lakeberg, film team
The Q&A after the screening.
Yalda, la nuit du pardon · Generation · Berlinale Goes Kiez · Feb 26, 2020
Julian Atanassov, Jacques Comets
The cinematographer and the editor in conversation.
Yalda, la nuit du pardon · Generation · Berlinale Goes Kiez · Feb 26, 2020
Massoud Bakhshi
Yalda, la nuit du pardon | Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness
Generation · Berlinale Meets | Interview · Feb 24, 2020
Massoud Bakhshi
Born in 1972 in Tehran, Iran where he still lives. Between 1990 and 1998, he worked as a film critic, screenwriter and producer. He has made ten documentaries and a short film which have won numerous awards. His debut feature film, A Respectable Family, was selected for the 2012 Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
Filmography
1999 Cine Citta; documentary · Identification of a Woman; documentary 2001 When Behrang Meets Ayoumi; documentary 2003 Praying for The Rain; documentary 2004 Lost Windows; documentary 2007 Tehran Has No More Pomegranates; documentary 2008 Baghdad Barber; short film 2010 Our Persian Rug; documentary 2012 A Respectable Family; feature film 2019 Yalda, la nuit du pardon (Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness); feature film
Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020