Cyrus Nowrasteh and Shohreh Aghdashloo from the Movie The Stoning of Soraya M.

On Friday, June 26, 2009 many lives will be forever changed. It marks the day that a very controversial, depressing and stirring film is released worldwide. “The Stoning of Soraya M.” is a true story of Soraya, a strikingly beautiful woman living in Kupayeh, a small village in Iran in 1986. Soraya is married to Ali, a physically abusive husband who’s a high ranking official in the village prison and together they have four children.

Ali finds himself in love with a prisoner’s 14 year old daughter and wants to divorce his wife, leave her with their two daughters as he takes their two sons. Soraya disagrees with this arrangement and proceeds to tell her Aunt Zahra. She has this beautifully husky voice and a strong spirit that no one; no man can break. This has gained her great respect in the village.

Zahra then appeals to the men in the village that Ali has to pay a huge fee to divorce her niece. Refusing to pay, Ali creates a rumor that Soraya is sleeping with the widower that she works for. In Kupayeh, adultery is punishable by death; stoning to be exact.

This true and horrific story was exposed by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam in his 1994 best-selling book, The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story. Director and co-writer Cyrus Nowrasteh adapted the book into a movie in 2008, Jim Caviezel portrays Freidoune, Shohreh Aghdashloo (Academy Award nominee, House of Sand and Fog's) Iranian born actress), plays Zahra and Mozhan Marno is Soraya.

Earlier this week, I had the great opportunity to sit with both the Cyrus and Shohreh and talk about this film and the impact they hope it makes on the free world as it pertains to injustices perpetrated on women and antiquated traditions that are masked by religion and allowed to go on.

Entering the room very nonchalantly and unmoved by our presence, Cyrus sits down and just looks at each of us; he says nothing. You can tell that this is not his favorite part of the film business. He’s the story teller and that’s where he prefers to stay. However, when whimsically asked if partaking in press days is a lot of work, he just retorts, “Not really, this is a great and worthy cause.”

Soon after, the quiet mood was broken and a smile appeared on his face when Cyrus saw a make shift version of a recorder stand staring directly in his face– this was funny to him.

Share in the rest of our time together with Cyrus Nowrasteh.

GC: Did you meet the fellow who wrote the book? What were your conversations like with him?

CN: We had great conversations. We talked about the writing of the book, his journey to Iran, what he was doing there, but most importantly, how we make this film as authentic as possible. He was worried that I’d film it on the back lot out in Utah somewhere and he was worried about the authenticity of the language and the culture.

GC: What went into the authenticity when filming, because obviously, you didn’t go into Iran to shoot?

CN: No that would have been problematic. However, we went to an Arab country in the Middle East, I guess that’s what I’m supposed to say. I had shot in morocco a couple of years ago, but Morocco had become expensive. The crews there are very good, but on our budget we needed to go somewhere else and we found a magnificent village in the mountains which looked exactly like the village the author had given me a photo of where this tragedy took place. That village where we shot matched it pretty well. It turned out magnificent on film, it’s never been photographed before, so this village you’ve never seen before. With Morocco, you’ve seen those villages many times before.

GC: I’m curious about your moral, spiritual and ethical challenges of filming something so close to home for you since that is your origin of background. What was that like, the struggle, if any?

CN: Well it was an honor to tell this story so it doesn’t feel like a struggle; instead it feels like you’re going on this important journey. We had found the book, developed the screenplay and took it to Shohreh (Agdashloo) and decisions were made based on many conversations with the author to keep it authentic and work with Farsi actors; speaking Farsi. Now, we didn’t have producers yet and I actually felt that it was going to be difficult to do it that way. I thought we may have had to do it in English, but we were going to have to fight that. Part of my ammunition was the discussions with the author and then it’s about authenticity in terms of the look the feel and the flavor of the village; of the customs. I asked my father to come on location; he’s retired, but I wanted a language and cultural advisor that I trusted implicitly. I felt like my cast needed to focus on what they were doing. He was indispensible to me and this really became a mission for a lot of the people involved with the movie. The principle cast members in the film are Iranian actors living in exile and they understood what it was about and they were motivated.

GC: Were all of the actors, including children, experienced actors?

CN: There are at least a dozen speaking parts in this movie that involved people who’ve never acted before in their lives. Some of them are Arabs that do not speak Farsi. Some are people I got from Iraqi refugee camps who are Kurds or others who do not speak Farsi, because they live on the border of Iran. Some of them were Iranian citizens who I found in the host country who lived and work there in other fields and were happy to come aboard because they spoke Farsi flawlessly, I wanted them. For example: The actress who plays the villainess/the village gossip, she’s never acted before in her life. The kids never acted before. The big thug and group of friends, the husband, none of those people ever acted before. The women in the bakery, they’ve never acted before.

GC: Did you anticipate with the election going on in Iran, the controversy of rioting, putting the film out at this time? Do you want this film to go mainstream or arthouse?

CN: Those are marketing questions, but I can tell you this. I approached this as an important story- period. I don’t care when it comes out because this stuff is ongoing. Furthermore, because Iran has been in the news the better part of my life, it doesn’t surprise that Iran’s in the news. Its fortuitous looking at it from another perspective, but it’s not that surprising.

GC: We read that this film is not about Islam, but Islam is a big part of the film it’s the driving force of what’s going on. How do you see this film playing out in the debates, especially in Europe. Are you worried about that?

CN: People ask me this all the time, “Are you worried about backlash?” “Are you worried about certain reactions”? I can’t control that. We have to tell the story as honestly and forthrightly as possible. The thing is, in terms of Islam and how it’s perceived or played in this film, there’s a quote at the front of this movie; a very important quote which is taken from the book by a very influential Iranian poet, Hafiz, who’s like the Shakespeare of Iran and he says, “Beware of the hypocrite who conceals his wiles while loudly quoting the Koran.” What’s that about? - Imposters. What’s the very next image after that, an image of Khamenei.

However, it is not in the Koran. It’s mentioned in the Bible. It’s mentioned in the Hadees The supposed sayings and incidences witnessed during Mohammed’s life by other people. Depending on what scholars you read there are hundreds of thousands of these incidences and sayings. A lot of the reformers in Islam are trying to disseminate which of the saying and incidences have historical justification and which don’t. It’s an ongoing debate.

GC: Where you trying to have different voices placed throughout the film in regards to making sure people knew that this was not about communism?

CN: The woman that played the aunt played by Shohreh Agdashloo, invokes the word of God and how she perceives it. One of the last things she says to Soraya is, “Pray for us too.” And she further says at the end that, “The God that I believe in is great.” Here she’s separate her actions and her belief form those of the people in the village and those who’ve gotten caught up in this sort of mob mentality.

GC: I’m curious as to whether you’ll do a screening for exiled Iranians?

CN: Yes, they’ll be there asking questions. We’ve had screenings for Iranian groups, Muslim groups, human rights groups and woman’s organizations and they have come forward and overwhelmingly supported the film. There may be a handful of people who object to it, but their objections are about whether we really need to tell this story? How else are going to get it to stop?

GC: How has the experience of reading the book, filming, recruiting, then getting cast and crew to believe in you and collaborating with the entire team to pull this story together affected you in any way?

CN: It has affected me greatly. When we were filming the stoning sequence it was over the course of six days and it was tough. We were getting emotional at the time and our actress Mozhan, who plays Soraya she had to sit in that hole and she said she really got creeped out a bit. She could really feel it. One of the most powerful moments in the movie for me is when she’s in that hole and bound and she’s bleeding and she’s suffering and she starts to struggle to get out and she’s groaning. My feeling is that the audience is in that hole with her and that’s a tough experience. But the next time you read or hear anything about a stoning, you’ll know just what they’re talking about.

There’s no explanation or foreshadowing of the process, you see the process as she does. So you become her.

GC: Has the author of the novel gotten a chance to see the film yet and what does he think of it?

CN: Unfortunately, he passed away while we were filming; with in days he was schedule to be with us. He was in his 70’s and he passed away in his sleep. I had talked to him only days earlier. Jim Caveziel was arriving and he had contacted him and they were going to talk. It was very sad. We show him at the very last frame of the film before the lights come up. He was a delightful man; very charismatic; filled with energy and spirit. It was unfortunate. I am in touch with his daughters though.

GC: Do you believe you captured on film what he put into words?

CN: I hope so. I think so.

Shohreh Aghdashloo enters the room with an amazing bright smile and greets us by saying, “Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,” then proceeds to shake each person’s hand. I however received a hug!

Very elegant and regal is her personality.

She comes in the room quoting thirteenth century Persian philosopher Rumi: I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Buddhist, nor Muslim. I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea… And we all listen intently like little children being read a bedtime story. She’s that charamatic.

GC: Did you read the book?

SA: No, I had no idea about the book. I had seen a real one on tape in the late 80’s – horrible. Those who say that the stoning in this film is graphic should see a real one. This is a mild watery version; international universal version of the stoning.

GC: When did this particular stoning take place?

SA: In the late 80’s. It was smuggled out of Iran in mid 80’s by some opposition and 1,000 copies were made and spread amongst the people who were involved with the Iranian film and show business industry and in the US. Thank God they told me not to watch it during the evening. I took my daughter to school, my husband went to work and at 11am I put it on and it took and hour and a half for them to die. I was sitting on the edge of my chair then and now with this film the audience tells me that they, too, sit n the edge of their chairs unable to relax. After watching the stoning I sat paralyzed. I could not believe my eyes. This stoning I watched involved two young men who were accused of being homosexual; one 18 and the other 19 years old.

GC: After watching that film, did it influence you in regards to how you wanted to portray your character or did you let Cyrus direct you?

SA: Basically, Cyrus trusted me. He was born in the US and only got to live in Iran a few years when he was a child, so he did not have any recollection. He told me he wanted me to come up with ideas and then we’ll discuss it together. And I did my thorough search. As an actor, especially a method actor, I need to imagine her physicality first; how she looks like. So I started with my nanny, Miriam. The scarf I wear, Miriam used to wear and she’d put one of her ears out; that was her style of wearing it– with those coin earrings. So I thought I was going to dedicate this to Miriam; I’m gong to think about Miriam. The way she talked and walked; she was a villager, she took really good care of me, she was a very kind women; yet a very strong woman. She came all the way from the village and she started working in Tehran with no fear at all and she had six kids. Then while doing the research on the physicality, I saw this brilliant picture on the first page of The New York Times, and I saw this Iraqi woman standing with her arms folded underneath one another and she’s looking far into the distance and there’s a young girl, 7 or 8 years old standing next to her with a fire going on behind her. Her face is bruised and dirty with mud on her clothes. The strength you can see in her face and the determination on her face to win this war. And I thought, this is it, this is Zahra! I put the picture on the mirror until the film was finished. Then I had to think of different ways the women wear their wraps, because my family didn’t wear wraps. So, I rented post revolutionary Iranian movies and it all came to me and there are thousands of ways to wear them.

GC: Stoning has been going on for such a long time, was it in some way liberating for you, as to be the one to Harold this voice right now?

SA: Absolutely, it was definitely liberating to me as an actor, as a feminist as an activist and as someone who really cares about what’s going on in that country.

GC: Tell us about your work with charities.

SA: I love doing fundraising for needy people. “One hand feeds the other.” Like last night at Ghetto Film School, it was brilliant being under the same roof with some of the world’s next great filmmakers in this country. I saw some of the future filmmakers who are given the opportunity without having to go through backdoors doing inappropriate stuff. To get into the cinema business, we all knew what used to happen before. Now they have the opportunity to just knock the door and it opens. Just last night five young people won scholarships. Thank God for all of those people who really care about others.

GC: Would you consider doing a comedy?

SA: Yes, I’m dying to do a comedy. I had so much fun doing a “Will and Grace.”

GC: Can you speak to how this film can play a part in the debates in Iran, in the broader Middle East?

SA: It’s amazing how timely this film is. I keep saying that it’s not only timeless, but it’s timely. Of course shedding light on the injustices such as this one would help a lot for the audience and the people whose are hearing hat’s happening in Iran. I have to mention here that it’s not only happening in Iran; it’s happening in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia. Being that it’s pre-election, election and all of these demonstrations in Iran it’s amazing and it’s like a miracle. The whole thing was like a miracle to me I have to admit. The moment Cyrus called me until the moment we went to Jordan it didn’t take more than a month and a half of shooting, a couple of months of post and the less than a year we were in the Toronto Film Festival in which we managed to become the second runner up next to “Slumdog Millionaire.” In fact last year, this time, we were filming in Jordan.