My Persian garden comes first on Rai 3 Friday 3 July, bringing on the small screen one of the most appreciated international films of the 2024 film season, a public service operation. Directed by Iranian directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, the film was presented in competition at the 74° Berlin International Film Festival, where it drew the attention of international criticism for its intimate story and for the social and political context in which it is set. The original title of the work is My Favorite Cake and represents a co-production between Iran, France, Germany and Sweden.
Distributed in Italian theatres in January 2025, the film tells a late love story in contemporary Tehran, addressing themes such as loneliness, the desire for freedom and the need for human relations in a society characterized by strong social and cultural restrictions. The film also assumed a particular symbolic value after the Iranian authorities prevented the two directors from participating in the world premiere in Berlin. My Persian garden was welcomed by critics as a work able to tell with delicacy universal themes such as love, old age and the search for happiness, without giving up a reflection on the role of women and on individual freedom in contemporary Iranian society.
Il mio Giardino persiano, la trama
The protagonist of the film is Mahin, a seventy-year-old woman who lives alone in Tehran after the death of her husband. His children moved abroad and his daily life is marked by a well-established routine. A meeting with some friends, however, pushes her to question her own life and the possibility of still giving herself a chance of happiness.
Determined to break his loneliness, Mahin knows Faramarz, a taxi driver of his age who lives a condition similar to his. The invitation to spend an evening together is transformed into a meeting capable of questioning fears, conventions and limits imposed by society. Through the relationship between the two protagonists, the film builds a story that interweaves private dimension and social context, giving a glimpse of daily life in contemporary Iran.
Il cast
To play Mahin is Lily Farhadpour, Iranian journalist and actress who offers one of the most appreciated interpretations of the international film year. On his side, Esmail Mehrabi plays in the role of Faramarz, taxi driver and former military, who shares with the protagonist the weight of solitude and the desire to find an authentic human contact.
The director is signed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, an artistic couple already known for Ballad of a White Cow. For the realization of My Persian garden, the two filmmakers faced numerous difficulties with the Iranian authorities, who challenged some content of the film, including scenes in which the protagonist appears without veil, drinks wine and dances within his home.
Il mio giardino persiano in streaming
The film is live streaming on RaiPlay, it is not available in Italy on other platforms.
L’articolo My Persian garden: plot, cast and what to know about the Iranian movie on Rai 3 proviene da Dituttounpop.it.
