‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ Sees Israel-Iran Filmmaking Collaboration Bear Fruit Amid Escalating Conflict: ‘Hate Will Not Work’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent On Oct. 1, as Iran was firing a fusillade of missiles on his country, Israeli director Eran Riklis was in Tel Aviv “trying to cling on to the fact” that he would hopefully soon be premiering his new film “Reading Lolita in Tehran” — which he calls “an iconic Iranian story, featuring iconic Iranian actresses” — at the Rome Film Festival.
On Oct. 27, one day after Israel launched retaliatory missile strikes on Iran, Rikils beamed on stage as he accepted the Rome event’s audience award and special jury prize alongside most of the film’s ensemble female cast that includes Golshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani, Isabella Nefar and Raha Rahbari.
At a time when tensions between Israel and Iran are soaring, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” – an adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s bestselling autobiographical novel about a fearless literature teacher in post-revolution Tehran – stands as a powerful symbol of filmmakers working together to counter political leaders that are waging war. “These girls are gathered around literature, around art, around culture,” Farahani said at the film’s Rome press conference. “As artists, we don’t take refuge in bombs and wars; we take refuge in art.” For Amir Ebrahimi, who won the Cannes best actress award in 2022 for her role in Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” working with an Israeli director is not a novelty.
Last year, she co-directed the Venice-premiering female empowerment thriller “Tatami” with Guy Nattiv, marking the first collaboration by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers. “Sometimes I get criticised by my [Palestinian] friends who ask me why I have chosen to work with Israeli people,” Amir Ebrahimi told Variety. “And every time, I try to explain to them.
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