Mahnaz Mohammadi on Depicting Iran’s Evin Prison in Berlin Film 'Roya'

Variety

by nvivarelli

February 14, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Dissident Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi, known for her powerful works like *Women Without Shadows* and *Son-Mother*, brings her harrowing experience of imprisonment in Tehran’s Evin Prison to the big screen in the Berlinale film *Roya*. Starring Turkish actress Melisa Sözen (*Winter Sleep*) as a political prisoner subjected to solitary confinement, the film captures the psychological toll of detention under Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Mohammadi, who spent time behind bars and lost friends to suicide due to the prison’s torturous conditions, infuses *Roya* with her personal trauma, crafting a visually haunting narrative that mirrors the fragmented reality of solitary confinement. The film was largely shot clandestinely in Iran, with portions completed in Georgia, reflecting the challenges of filming under strict censorship. Mohammadi chose Sözen after being struck by the actress’s raw emotion in *Winter Sleep*. The director’s unique aesthetic approach, inspired by her inability to see much of the prison during her own incarceration, employs a dream-like structure to convey the psychological unraveling of her character. This choice reflects the surreal and disorienting experience of solitary confinement, emphasizing silence and rupture over explanation. Mohammadi’s

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Originally published on Variety on 2/14/2026