In hardly any country the death penalty is carried out as often as in Iran. In There is No Evil, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof showed what this means for the lives of those involved. Directing duo Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam now made a compelling drama that not only depicts how the Iranian legal system functions, but also which position a woman has in it. A year after her husband Babak’s execution, Mina (Maryam Moghaddam) is called to court, where she is drily informed that her husband was innocent and was in fact wrongly executed. Still, it must have been the Allah’s will, otherwise it could not have happened, the judge states. One day Reza shows up, claiming to be an old friend of Babak’s. He has come to pay an outstanding debt. Though hesitant at first, Mina gradually lets Reza into her life.
Behtash Sanaeeha (1980, Iran) studied civil engineering before writing screenplays and directing shorts, documentaries, commercials and animated series for television. His debut feature Risk of Acid Rain screened at over 30 international festivals. He made the documentary The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi with Maryam Moghaddam, with whom he also made Ballad of a White Cow.
Maryam Moghadam (1970, Iran) studied Performing Arts in Sweden. She has appeared in films including Closed Curtain by Jafar Panahi and Kambuzia Partovi, which premiered at the Berlinale and won a Silver Bear. She co-wrote the screenplay for Risk of Acid Rain with Behtash Sanaeeha, with whom she also collaborated on The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi and Ballad of a White Cow.
