What is Mahnaz Mohammadi's film 'Roya' about?

'Roya' is about a teacher in solitary confinement who is pressured to make a confession, drawing from director Mahnaz Mohammadi's own experiences in Iran's Evin prison.

Where was Mahnaz Mohammadi's film 'Roya' filmed?

Part of the film 'Roya' was shot clandestinely within Iran, and other parts were filmed in Georgia.

How does 'Roya' visually represent solitary confinement?

'Roya' uses a dreamlike structure and emphasizes displacement and silence to convey the psychological experience of memory, fear, and hallucination during isolation.

Home / Arts and Entertainment / Filmmaker's Prison Trauma Inspires New Film 'Roya'

Filmmaker's Prison Trauma Inspires New Film 'Roya'

14 Feb

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Summary

Iranian director Mahnaz Mohammadi's film 'Roya' depicts Evin prison.
The film draws from Mohammadi's own harrowing experiences in jail.
'Roya' was partly filmed clandestinely within Iran and Georgia.

Filmmaker's Prison Trauma Inspires New Film 'Roya'

Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi presents "Roya," a film deeply rooted in her personal experiences within Tehran's notorious Evin prison. The movie, featured in the Berlinale's Panorama section, stars Melisa Sözen as a teacher facing solitary confinement and pressure to make a televised confession.

Mohammadi herself has endured imprisonment in Iran, drawing parallels to the hellish conditions within Evin's "Second A" section, a place she describes as separate and more severe than other facilities. She noted the devastating psychological impact on former inmates, often pushed to confess and leading to a form of political suicide.