tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

tMF is introducing a new feature called tMF Indie Spotlight - where we get to focus on some of the most exciting, innovative and thought-provoking independent films soon to be shown on the big screen. In our first post, we're featuring the critically-acclaimed The Stoning of Soraya M.

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Comments SoYun Kim, the PR Interactive director of the Palisades Mediagroup:

This film is so timely especially in light of what is happening in Iran and the need for change. As the title suggests this film is about stoning - the brutal form of punishment usually for women. The intent of the film is to bring awareness that this is still practiced today and hopefully to end it forever.

It already won the Audience Award for best picture at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival and is consistently receiving rave reviews from critics.

I had the opportunity to live and work in the Middle East, particularly in Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.While the goverments of these countries are promoting their people's new and modern ways and that anyone can visit and enjoy their beautiful lands, there still exist certain tradition and practices, that in the Western world, would not be acceptable anymore.

There was a time when I witnessed a public execution - a man in his late thirties actually lost his life, while a gathered crowd celebrate. If you think I'm only joking, you can read a BBC article in which they interviewed Saudi Arabia's leading executioner.

Stoning, a very cruel and inhumane punishment, still exist in some parts of the Middle East. I've heard of it directly from some people who have actually witnessed how it's being done. This movie, which deals with this cruel punishment, would be more than a wake up call to anyone who values life and believes that truth and justice cannot be compromised.

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Film Synopsis: In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything.

This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally charged experience of THE STONING OF SORAYA M. Based on an incredible true story, this powerful tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling parable about mob rule. Who will join forces with the plot against her, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what's right. It is both a classic fable of good and evil and an inspiring tribute to the many fighting against injustice around the world, THE STONING OF SORAYA M. was a rousing runner-up to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE as the Audience Favorite at the Toronto Film Festival.

Academy Award® nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG) stars in the heroic role of Zahra, an Iranian woman with a burning secret. When a journalist (Jim Caviezel, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, DÉJÀ VU) is stranded in her remote village, she takes a bold chance to reveal what the villagers will stop at nothing to keep hidden.

Thus begins the remarkable account of what happened to Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), a kind, spirited woman whose bad marriage leads her cruel, divorce-seeking husband to conspire against her, trumping up charges of infidelity, which carry an unimaginable penalty. Moving through a minefield of scheming, lies and deceit, Soraya and Zahra will attempt to prove Soraya's innocence in a legal system stacked against her. But when all else fails, Zahra will risk everything to use the sole weapon she has left - the fearless, passionate voice that can share Soraya's story with a shocked world.

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THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is inspired by Paris-based journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which, rife with intrigue and moral outrage, first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was buried to her waist in her hometown square and stoned by her fellow villagers.

Director Cyrus Nowrasteh, along with his wife and fellow screenwriter Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, saw in Soraya one story that stands for thousands of untold tales around the world, from Africa to Asia, from Europe to America, wherever people are battling prejudice and injustice. Their screenplay takes the hard facts surrounding Soraya's fate and carves from them a lyrical, fable-like entertainment that gets under the skin by posing a provocative question: who among us would throw stones and who would take a stand against them?