Cake & Figs: How the spirit of Mahsa Amini lives on in two Iranian films challenging state despotism

Two years after a massive protest movement erupted in Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained for allegedly violating the dress code for women, mass executions and the violent repression of women continues in Iran.

But so do protests, even if currently limited and methodically crushed by the government. Only on Sunday, 34 female political prisoners went on hunger strike in Teheran’s Evin Prison to mark the tragic anniversary.

Opponents of Iran’s clerical authorities hoped that the protest movements would be a turning point, and the country’s artistic output, while heavily subjected to censorship, shows that they have left an indelible mark.

Euronews Culture delves into two Iranian films that start their theatrical rollouts in Europe and which dare to expose and defy the crimes of the Islamic State in Iran.

The first is My Favourite Cake by Iranian directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, which premiered at this year’s Berlinale.

The filmmakers behind 2021’s emotionally devastating Ballad of a White Cow were not in attendance for the grand opening of their film in Berlin, as they were banned from traveling by Iranian authorities and had their passports confiscated, facing a court trial in relation to their new film.

In December 2023, local media reported that Iranian security forces had raided the house of the My Favourite Cake’s editor, seizing rushes and materials related to the production.

The country’s hard-line Islamist authorities were believed to have been angered by the film, much like they were for Ballad of a White Cow, which got the directing duo sued by the Revolutionary Guards and charged with “propaganda against the regime and acting against national security”.

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