In The Seats With...Massoud Bakhshi and 'Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness'

There's something to be said for social commentary that is done in a very wry and even subversive way. On this episode we talk with writer/director Massoud Bakhshi about his new film 'Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness' which is hitting virtual cinema's this coming Friday Dec. 11th in the States. This is a film which is set almost entirely within the studio of Iran’s most popular reality TV show, “Joy of Forgiveness”. Maryam (Sadaf Asgari) is a young woman who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband, Nasser. Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, so Maryam’s fate will be decided by Nasser’s daughter, Mona (Benaz Jafari), who has always been like a big sister to her. Live, in front of the cameras and millions of viewers during Yalda, a Persian celebration of the winter solstice, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past. We talked with Massoud about the origins of the story, keeping something that was a piece of fiction grounded in reality and so very much more...