Since the death of student Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the vice police in Tehran, Golshifteh Farahani has spoken out for Iranian protesters on Instagram and in interviews, and has been seen championing their cause on stage with the band Coldplay.
Exiled from Iran for fifteen years, the actress, who now lives in Portugal, was in Paris to promote Thibault Segouin's film,
A romantic comedy
.
Facing Alex Lutz, she plays the role of Salomé, a free, strong and positive woman.
A character that resonates with the ardent and determined personality of the actress, an inspiring figure.
In video, Trailer: “A romantic comedy”, with Alex Lutz and Golshifteh Farahani
My mood at the moment?
I feel like I'm in the fog.
My current role?
Being Iranian, I feel pain, sadness, but also anger.
If I was there, I would take to the streets, but being here, I strive to bridge two cultures, to translate cultural subtleties and to clarify misunderstandings.
I try to publish enlightening videos and information on social networks, while measuring this responsibility.
(Golshifteh Farahani has 14.6 million followers on Instagram, editor's note).
Am I afraid of reprisals?
I can't say I'm scared, but I can't say otherwise either.
I remain vigilant, because the danger can come from anywhere.
Salomé, my character in
A Romantic Comedy
…
…is funny, non-judgmental, she sees things on the bright side, and I love that about her.
I'm not always positive, but I try to be positive too.
Talking about yourself in an interview, is it a chore?
No way !
The interviews make me verbalize my feelings and understand things about myself and about different subjects, especially the history of Iran.
I see these meetings as a kind of psychoanalysis, because putting words on a subject makes it clearer.
Even questions that make me uncomfortable move my thinking forward.
The Iranian secret services arrested me for cooperating with the Americans, and the seven months of interrogations and psychological torture that followed made me leave the country.
I was 24
Golshifteh Farahani
What do I think when I stare at makeup in the morning?
Being nearsighted, in a dark bathroom, in the morning, I can't see anything.
It's a choice not to wear glasses, I don't need the details, and it allows me to develop absolute pitch.
Do I still have the sacred fire?
Sometimes I get bored on long projects, but the characters I play always manage to remind me that the fire is there.
Any misunderstanding about me?
The reason why I am in exile.
Many think I left Iran because I appeared on a red carpet without a veil, but that's because I shot
Lies of State
, by Ridley Scott.
The Iranian secret services arrested me for cooperating with the Americans, and the seven months of interrogations and psychological torture that followed made me leave the country.
I was 24 years old.
Read also Revolt in Iran: "It's a generation of more educated women, who have no intention of accepting the diktat of the veil"
Am I lying in an interview?
No.
Since I left Iran, my goal has been to live in the truth.
I say everything, that way I'm happier.
The subject that makes me go out of my hinges?
It is rather a person, whose name I prefer to keep silent.
Because this movie man lies and behaves very badly with women, he deserves to have his true face revealed, and I will do my best to do so.
The last time I was proud of myself?
When Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey reposted one of my posts on Iran.
The review that makes me happy?
When it is said of me that I can act without thinking.
In life, I have often acted with the body more than the head.
What am I going to do after this interview?
Take off my heavy mascara and curl up on a bed doing nothing.
These moments of solitude are vital for me, because I am actually an upset introvert.
A romantic comedy,
by Thibault Segouin, with Golshifteh Farahani, Alex Lutz...
