❮
❯
VIRAL EXCLUSIVE
Oct. 25, 2024
Challenges of Adapting Reading Lolita in Tehran
Israel - Reading Lolita In Tehran relates university professor Nafisi’s experiences of returning to her home country of Iran during the 1978 revolution, and living under the theocratic Islamic Republic government until her departure in 1997. During this time, she formed a book club for female students, reading banned works including Lolita.
Israeli
director Eran Riklis faced significant challenges in bringing Reading Lolita
in Tehran to the screen, an adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s memoir. The film,
which premiered at the Rome Film Festival, recounts Nafisi’s experiences during
the 1978 Iranian revolution and her formation of a secret book club for female
students to read banned Western classics.
Riklis
connected with Nafisi in 2017 and collaborated with writer Marjorie David to
ensure authenticity, casting Iranian actresses, including Golshifteh Farahani,
who had been living in France since being banned from Iran in 2009. Farahani
initially doubted the project’s feasibility but was deeply moved during a
script reading in Cape Town, which solidified her commitment.
The
production faced obstacles, such as language barriers, as Farahani had not
spoken Farsi on film for over a decade. Workshops were held to foster
camaraderie among the cast, leading to script modifications based on their
interactions. The film, shot in Italy, is an Italian-Israeli co-production,
highlighting the universal themes of human struggle and resilience.
Riklis’s
dedication to respectful storytelling and the emotional depth of Nafisi’s
memoir have created a poignant film that resonates with audiences worldwide.
