Exclusive | Creators of 'White Torture': We are making documentaries about Hijab and Bahá'ís

The creators of the film 'White Torture', which was recently screened in the European Parliament, told Voice of America that in addition to making the next part of this film, they are producing documentaries about hijab, Bahá'ís, and Qarchak prison. Golara Kakavand and Vahid Zare'zadeh, the creators of this documentary based on a book of the same name by Narges Mohammadi, stated in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America that they have documented human rights violations in Iran for years and emphasized that 'after being interrogated and pressured for making this film, they left Iran to preserve their hard drives related to their work.' According to Ms. Kakavand and Mr. Zare'zadeh, their documentary series includes narratives from Abbas Amirentazm, the spokesperson of the provisional government during his imprisonment, accounts of protesters detained during the Green Movement in 2009, violations of Bahá'í rights and the deprivation of Bahá'í children's education, the struggle against compulsory hijab, and narratives from the girls of Enghelab Street, as well as violations of prisoners' rights, including a narrative from Qarchak prison, covering parts of Iran's political history. Vahid Zare'zadeh stated that he started documenting and collecting information about historical and social events in Iran years ago, as he sees oral history collection as his duty as a documentary filmmaker. He emphasizes that 'White Torture' is in line with his previous films, with the difference that this film was able to be screened due to the 'courage' of Narges Mohammadi. He has archived other films to be able to screen them without issues in the future. 'White Torture' narrates the experiences of 13 political and ideological prisoners, including journalists, Bahá'ís, and student activists, who have endured torture and solitary confinement at various times during the Islamic Republic. The film provides an image of 'the conditions of solitary confinement, interrogations, and the endurance of prisoners in the solitary confinement process' and the memoirs of these narrators from the events they experienced. The film also shows how these prisoners' perspectives on solitary confinement have impacted their lives and mental states today. Mr. Zare'zadeh noted that 'with the Women's Life Freedom Revolution, many events occurred in Iran, and many voices were heard,' stating that they had to leave Iran to save their documentation from human rights violations because they did not want their films, which were the result of years of effort, to go to waste. Golara Kakavand also told Voice of America that they are currently working on editing 'White Torture 2' based on Narges Mohammadi's third book and have narratives from Qarchak prison as well as a film about political prisoners and the hijab issue in progress. Kakavand emphasizes that most narrators of the film 'White Torture' are either 'in prison or have sentences' and are awaiting the execution of their sentences, but 'despite all the harms of white torture, they continue this struggle.' The documentary 'White Torture', derived from Narges Mohammadi's book of the same name, was screened on Tuesday, July 5, in the European Parliament. Narges Mohammadi, a human rights defender imprisoned in Iran, emphasized in a message to attendees at the film screening that 'abuse of women occurs in the solitary confinement cells of detention centers' and 'solitary confinement and white torture cannot be reduced to their constituent elements.' According to her, 'these days, the oppressive authoritarian government, fully aware of its complete disconnection from society and facing widespread angry protests against itself, has inevitably turned to opaque and secret agreements with governments in the international arena, while intensifying repression domestically.' This human rights defender also emphasized that even if a person can 'resist, not break, and not make forced confessions' in solitary confinement, which is the path of executions, they cannot escape the lasting and devastating effects of it.