I natt stod det klart att Guldbaggebelönade Nahid Persson Sarvestanis nya dokumentärfilm Drottningen och jag, om Farah Diba, valts ut att tävla på Sundace filmfestival i januari nästa år. Detta är första gången någonsin som en svensk dokumentärfilm tävlar
The Queen and I is selected for competition Photo: Real Reel
It was recently announced that Nahid Persson Sarvestani new documentary The Queen and I, about Farah Diba, has been selected to compete in January's Sundance Film festival. This marks the first time ever that a Swedish documentary is in competition at Sundance.
Representatives for the festival ploughed their way through 1,623 documentaries from around the world, selecting 16 for the World Cinema section and 15 for the American section.
"It's fantastic, Sundance is so big. I recently presented the film at IDFA in Amsterdam and was totally bowled over by the reception. The film screened six times to completely full houses," says Nahid Persson Sarvestani. "And since the Sundance announcement I've had emails from several major companies wanting to distribute the film. That's very cool indeed!"
Two years ago Nahid Persson Sarvestani travelled to Iran to finish off her film "Four Wives – One Man", which went on cinema release last year. As soon as she landed at Teheran Airport she was arrested and subjected to intense interrogation, culminating in her being forced to sign a declaration that she would make no more films about Iran. And it was during these interrogations that she got the idea for her latest film.
Going back thirty years, Nahid took part in the revolution which ousted the Shah and brought down the monarchy in Iran. Yet she has always been fascinated by the Shah's wife, Farah Diba. And it is to this seemingly unlikely subject that she has turned so many years after the revolution and the betrayal she felt at being forced into exile, a fate she shares in common with the former queen. During the two years of filming her former adversary there were many moments of disagreement, but also of surprise and revelation. The film unfolds a meeting between two women who have much more in common than either of them might have imagined.
Distributed by Folkets Bio, "The Queen and I" opens in Sweden on 13 February 2009.
The Sundance Film Festival runs from 15-25 January 2009.