HONG KONG, 4th December 2015 - Jon Stewart's film Rosewater (2014) is based on the true story of Maziar Bahari, a London-based Iranian-Canadian journalist who reported on the violence against protestors of Iran's presidential election in 2009. Consequently, the Iranian authorities sentenced Bahari to 118 days in prison with brutal interrogation. As Bahari was blindfolded, the only thing he could recall about the interrogator's distinguish feature was the “Rosewater” smell.

During the Q&A session, Bahari pointed out his wish to raise public awareness on the freedom of speech issues in Iran. As the country was also vulnerable to bad publicity, he hoped the film Rosewater could put pressure on the Iranian government to improve the situation. 

Video: Watch the complete program (20 min.)