A question of moral courage

The film The Stoning of Soraya M portrays the brutal and oppressive life of women in an Iranian village.

Av Tonje Finvold Lacher 23. sep 2009

Stoning as punishment is still practiced in some Moslem countries, including Iran. The Stoning of Soraya M is an adaptation of the 1994 book of the same name. It is based on a real story and because of the book’s critical attitude towards the Iranian judicial system it was banned in that country. 

The Story

Zahra tells the journalist about Soraya M, a mother with small children whose violent husband wanted a divorce to marry a 14-year-old. To speed up the divorce, he spread untrue adultery rumours about Soraya and she was sentenced to death by a sharia court. 

The Stoning of Soraya M depicts a society where males can do whatever they want while females are left with no rights. The film has been screened at a number of film festivals and it won the Audience Award during the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Films spark emotions

See the world from a different angle. When films discuss provocative, difficult and topical issues, they spark emotions and create reflection and debate. Our programme section called The Critical Room presents precisely the type of films that explore controversial themes, which are then put in context through organised debates after the screenings.

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