Maral Nasiri, Iranian-Swedish Artist and Best Actress in Sweden: I Am Proud of the Struggle of Women in Iran

Maral Nasiri, an Iranian-Swedish artist who was awarded the prestigious "Guldbagge" award as the best actress in Sweden, spoke with Voice of America about receiving the award and the controversy surrounding the dress she wore at the ceremony. Nasiri received this award for her role in the film "Enemy" directed by Milad Alami. The film "Enemy" was nominated in seven categories at the Swedish Film Institute's ceremony, which is known as the Swedish Oscars. Maral Nasiri plays the role of Maryam, an Iranian woman who seeks asylum in Sweden with her husband and two daughters; her husband is portrayed by Peyman Maadi. This film focuses on the issue of immigration and depicts some of the challenges faced by refugees in Scandinavian countries. "Enemy" also addresses personal and family challenges, emotional duality, and confusion regarding issues such as homosexuality. The success of this Iranian-Swedish actress received significant media attention in Sweden and garnered numerous reactions from Iranian users on social media. Maral Nasiri was born in Iran and migrated to Sweden with her family when she was six years old. She began her artistic career seriously as an actress and director in theater and has experience acting in several films and series. In her interview with Voice of America, Nasiri expressed her happiness about receiving the best actress award in Sweden. "I am very happy to receive this award, especially for my role in 'Enemy,' a film that was very challenging for me in many aspects. I grew up in Sweden, and playing the role of a woman coming from Iran to Sweden and acting in Persian was a different experience. I must add that at first glance, this character was very distant from me, meaning I had no familiarity with it and could not play the role based on my past experiences; I had to find this woman's character, which was not easy. I am not sure how this award will affect my artistic future, but I know that I received this award for the work I did, and I am happy about that. It is really unclear how much such awards are important for future works; I am more active in theater and will be on stage at the National Theater of Sweden for the next two years. I hope that with this award, I will receive good job offers, be able to collaborate with more artists, and tell many stories. The dress you wore on the night of the awards received a lot of attention. What was the story behind this dress? When I was nominated for the award, I went to various designers. They usually want you to wear their designs at such ceremonies to get more visibility. When I tried on these dresses, I felt like I was not myself, and these designs did not resonate with my personality, and I needed to wear something that truly represented me at such an event. On the other hand, after the killing of Mahsa Amini and when the nationwide protests in Iran began, I was active in this regard and did various things. In recent months, I was repeatedly asked what happened, why the protests quieted down, and they were sorry that the sacrifice of these children had no result. I wanted to show that the struggle continues, and many people in prisons and in the streets are fighting this regime in various ways. Let me tell you a story that I also shared when receiving the award. When I was twenty days old, I was imprisoned in Evin with my mother. I was not in good condition and was dying. Other prisoners, some of whom had no familiarity with us, went on a hunger strike for my sake, and the prison authorities were forced to temporarily release us. I owe my life to the prisoners who saved us with their hunger strike. That is why I wanted to address this issue at the ceremony because it is very important to me personally. I decided to choose a dress that would give me the freedom to act and not have anyone tell me what to wear or do; I went to a second-hand clothing store and bought this dress and made a bag with a hat I had. I have a great interest in the works of Shirin Neshat and appreciate her way of using art to tell the stories of people in Iran. Therefore, I spoke with my friends and decided to write the names of current political prisoners on my body. I collaborated with a number of young Swedish girls as makeup artists and designers who were very eager to participate in this idea, and I am very happy about this; they are not Iranian but did this with enthusiasm. I am very satisfied that I attended the ceremony in this way on the red carpet, although I may not have done something very significant, but it was the least I could do. I think this movement is one of the largest feminist movements in the world. I am proud of all Iranian women; they are the bravest people I have seen, and undoubtedly the name of Iranian women will be recorded in history because they bravely stood up against one of the most brutal regimes in the world. They, and all the fighters in Iran, pay a high price and fight for their freedom and the freedom of others; this is very valuable. I will stand by them until the end of this path and proudly say, 'Woman, Life, Freedom.' I am happy both for myself and for all those who saw on television that an Iranian received the award for the best actress in Sweden. I was not born in Sweden and received this award as a foreigner, an achievement that is considered a significant success in this country. The film "Enemy" directed by Milad Alami, an Iranian-Swedish filmmaker, was nominated for seven awards, including Best Film of the Year. "Enemy" was nominated for awards in directing, screenplay, cinematography, and editing. Meanwhile, Peyman Maadi and Maral Nasiri were also nominated for the best male and female actor awards. This film was submitted by Sweden to participate in the international or non-English language category at the Academy Awards but did not reach the final stages.