Description:
The film recounts the unfolding of the 1988 secret prison massacre through the eyes of five survivors, from the day of the lockdown to the day they were released. It follows them as they learn about the lockdown. Their first reaction is confusion and disbelief, but unusual events escalate. Televisions and newspapers are taken away. They are not allowed out of their blocks. Friends are taken. And finally it is the turn of the survivors. They are blindfolded, lined up, and walked through the dark corridors of Evin and Gohardasht prisons. After hours of waiting, one by one they are taken for questioning by a three member committee.
Biography: Delnaz Abadi was a first-year college student when the 1979 revolution toppled the dictatorial regime of the Shah of Iran. Like most youth of her generation she was intrigued by the revolution and participated in it with high hopes. But the regime that replaced the Shah turned out to be a much harsher dictatorship: an Islamic theocracy. When two years after the revolution the Islamic regime launched a reign of terror to decimate all opposition groups, Delnaz who was still politically active went underground. In 1984 she fled Iran and sought political asylum in the US. The Secret Fatwa is her first feature-length documentary. She has also worked as a co-producer for the documentary The Dogtown Redemption.
Amir Soltani is an Iranian-American is a writer, journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist. His graphic novel, Zahra’s Paradise, has become a global multi-media phenomenon. His documentary film Dogtown Redemption won the MVFF Audience Favorite Award. What Amir brings to this project is the conceptual powers and gifts of the storyteller, the passion of the human rights activist and the skills of the community builder.
Denise Zmekhol is an award-winning producer and di
rector. She creates documentary films, commercials and innovative transmedia projects. Zmekhol’s Children of the Amazon, a PBS feature documentary, takes you on a journey into the Amazon in search of the indigenous children she had photographed fifteen years earlier. Denise co-produced and co-directed Digital Journey, a 39-part Emmy Award winning public television series exploring emerging technologies. She is a co-producer on Amir Soltani’s Dogtown Redemption.
