Women´s Prison

Colour, 35 mm
Iran, 2002, 106 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

After unrest breaks out in a Teheran women’s prison, the prison governor Tahereh is forced to introduce harsh repressive methods. She manages to calm the atmosphere down and decides to find an ally among them, the unspoken leader Mitra. Mitra has been given a life sentence for murdering her step-father. Time passes and Tahereh begins to soften. She is more sensitive to the bitter fates of her wards and Mitra makes such an impression on her that she tries to have her pardoned. The action takes place over two decades, during which the relationship between the two women develops from being one of mutual hatred and scorn to one of understanding. The film is based on real events and, via the portraits of the individual women imprisoned for prostitution, drugs and associated crimes, it captures the influence of a repressive society on crime, particularly for women, who are traditionally disadvantaged in Iranian society.

About the director

Manijeh Hekmat (b. 1962) is one of Iran’s most active female directors. She worked on 11 films, first as a continuity girl, then as an assistant director. In the last ten years she has produced five films, among them a German film made in Kurdistan. Women´s Prison is her directorial debut, based on lengthy research which the director carried out in various women´s prisons in Iran.