Best Editing and Best Documentary Awards in German Cinema Go to 'Seven Winters in Tehran'

The Best Editing and Best Documentary awards of the top German cinema were awarded to the documentary 'Seven Winters in Tehran' directed by Steffi Niederzoll on Friday night, 14 Ordibehesht. The documentary 'Seven Winters in Tehran' is about the life of Reyhaneh Jabbari. When she was only 19 years old, she was sentenced to death for killing a man who attempted to rape her. After seven years of fighting to prove her innocence, Reyhaneh was ultimately executed on 25 October 2013. Shohreh Pakravan, Reyhaneh Jabbari's mother, who attended the ceremony, spoke about the cancellation of death sentences and the imminent execution of 'Tomaaj Salehi'. In an exclusive interview with Voice of America, Ms. Pakravan stated, 'In my short speech at the ceremony, I called for the abolition of death sentences in Iran and the freedom of Reza Rasayi, Habib Idris, Abbas Daris, Mojahid Korkor, and Tomaaj Salehi.' She added, 'Before the ceremony began, we wrote Tomaaj's name on our palms, and the German Minister of Culture also called for Tomaaj Salehi's freedom and the cancellation of his death sentence in his speech.' The documentary 'Seven Winters in Tehran' combines letters from Reyhaneh Jabbari, which international actress Zar Amir-Ebrahimi has read aloud. In this documentary, the director, along with Shohreh Pakravan, Reyhaneh's mother, has compiled home videos and interviews with members of the Jabbari family (including her lawyer and one of her cellmates) into a cohesive narrative. The production of 'Seven Winters in Tehran', co-produced by Germany and France, took more than five years.