Keyk-e mahbub-e man is a tragicomedy and romantic drama film co-written and directed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha , and starring Lily Farhadpour and Esmail Mehrabi.
The film tells the story of a woman who decides to live out her desires in a country where women's rights are heavily restricted. The international co-production between Iran, France, Sweden, and Germany had its world premiere on 16 February at the main competition for the Golden Bear at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
The filmmakers were issued travel bans during post-production, and prohibited from attending the premiere in Berlin , by the Iranian Government. She is living a lonely life in Tehran. But one day, she decides to join her friends for the afternoon tea and finds a new spark in her heart. She meets someone who makes her feel alive again, and the evening brings unpredictable surprises and memories. The film follows the story of a woman who decides to live out her desires in a country where women's rights are heavily restricted.
The film was among the first six films selected for the first round of the New Dawn scheme [ a ] after its launch in In September , when Moghaddam and Sanaeeha wanted to travel to Paris for the post-production of the film, their passports were confiscated and they were threatened with criminal charges. The media saw a connection in these actions to their acclaimed film Ballad of a White Cow , which encountered the wrath of Iran's strict Islamic government. In December , approximately 30 film organizations, festivals and filmmakers, as well as non-governmental organizations for freedom of expression, wrote an open letter calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately drop all charges against the duo and to lift their travel ban.
In January , after its nomination to compete at the 74th Berlinale, the festival again called for freedom of travel and freedom of expression for the directing duo. In December the directors, forbidden from making movies, working, and travelling, were on trial in Iran, held in Evin prison , for propaganda against the regime, breaking Islamic rules by making a vulgar movie, and spreading prostitution and libertinism.
