ifs-Begegnung mit »Sieben Winter in Teheran« und Produzentin Melanie Andernach

In the organizer's words:

"SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHRAN"

D/FR 2023, 97 min; OmU; FSK 16; screenplay & director: Steffi Niederzoll, producers: Melanie Andernach, Knut Losen, Production: MADE IN GERMANY, Gloria Films Production, TS Productions, WDR

Followed by a film discussion with producer and ifs professor Melanie Andernach, moderated by Sonja Hofmann (Festival Director Kinofest Lünen and Managing Director Filmbüro NW e.V.)

Tehran in the summer of 2007: 19-year-old student Reyhaneh Jabbari has a business appointment with a new client for her part-time job as an interior designer. When he tries to rape her while she is viewing the premises, she stabs him in self-defense. On the same day, she is arrested for murder and later sentenced to death in court. She spent seven years in prison, fighting for justice with her family. Despite national and international efforts, the Iranian judiciary sticks to its verdict, citing the "right to blood revenge". As long as Reyhaneh does not recant her statement, the man's family can demand her death. Reyhaneh does not retract her statement and is executed at the age of 26.

The film reconstructs the trial and imprisonment with the help of secretly recorded videos, letters that Reyhaneh wrote in prison and testimonies from her family. It traces the fate of the young woman who became a symbol of resistance and the fight for women's rights in Iran.

"We follow the story of a young woman who resists institutionalized male violence. The result is a sensitive portrait of a family torn apart in the fight against an unjust regime. Using a variety of documentary material, the film spans a stringent narrative arc," was the verdict of the jury for the Berlinale's Compass Perspective Award. "This film hurts and disturbs. At the same time, the encounter with the young protagonist Reyhaneh is inspiring and leaves us with a spark of hope."

"Seven Winters in Tehran" has received numerous awards, including the "German Film Award" in the categories Best Documentary and Best Editing, the "Bavarian Film Award", the "Peace Prize of the Berlinale", the "Peace Prize of German Film", the "Compass Perspective Award" of the Berlinale and the "Roman Brodmann Prize, F:act Award" at CPH Dox.

Award-winning producer Melanie Andernach has been Professor of Creative Producing at the ifs International Film School Cologne since December 2025. She herself is a graduate of the Creative Producing major in the BA Film program at the ifs and founded the production company MADE IN GERMANY together with Knut Losen after completing her studies. MADE IN GERMANY develops and (co-)produces high-quality documentaries and feature films for German, European and international audiences, including "Seven Winters in Tehran" and numerous other award-winning films such as "Vergiss Meyn nicht" (e.g. German Film Award nomination, Best Documentary Film Filmkunstfest MV), "Lingui" (premiere in competition in Cannes, Best Co-Production Filmfest Hamburg), "Talking About Trees" (Panorama Audience Award at the Berlinale) and "Dark Eden" (Grimme Award).