Iranian Directors Banned From Traveling to Berlinale Talk ‘Crossing All the Red Lines’ in ‘My Favourite Cake’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Iranian director duo Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha were recently banned by Iranian authorities from traveling to this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where their drama “My Favourite Cake” is premiering in competition.
The film is about a 70-year-old woman named Mahin who has been living alone in Tehran ever since her husband died and her daughter left for Europe.
Suddenly an incident prompts Mahin to break her solitary routine and revitalize her love life. The directors have a history with the Berlinale, where their previous work, “Ballad of a White Cow,” premiered in 2021 with the directors in tow.
They spoke to Variety via Zoom from Tehran about the increased crackdown against filmmakers in their country. What have Iranian authorities done to prevent you from coming to Berlin? Behtash Sanaeeha: Actually, it all started six months ago when security guards raided our editor’s place.
Read more on variety.com
