Along with Cannes and Sundance, the Telluride Film Festival is among the more prestigious annual film celebrations that also sees the release of new films months before they head into theaters nationally and worldwide.
The Colorado-based event took place this past weekend and among other new movies that have been making the news is The Daily Show's Jon Stewart's directorial debut with the film 'Rosewater'.
Already picking up political traction with threats from Iran, the political film is a true story that not only carries a powerful narrative in its own right, but is also being released at a time where these stories are continually happening.
Set in 2009, the film (based on the lead character's memoir) tells the story of London-based journalist Maziar Bahari and his 100-day imprisonment following an interview on director Jon Stewart's own nightly news show "The Daily Show". The interview was in regards to the then-upcoming presidential election in Iran and based on the content discussed in the interview, Bahari was accused of being a "CIA-Zionist" spy by the Iranian government. The film's title "Rosewater" comes from Bahari's memory of his interrogator smelling like rosewater while Bahari was blindfolded and questioned.
The film has been met with both positive and negative reviews, although the performance by actor Gael Garcia Bernal has been touted as Oscar-worthy and one of his best performances on-screen to date. It has been stated that although Bernal is traditionally of Mexican descent, it was important to the filmmakers to have a familiar face as the main character in order to make the film more appealing to a wider audience as political movies can be a hard-sell.
This directorial debut is a new direction for Jon Stewart who is perhaps better known for hosting the Oscars and for hosting the popular Daily Show on Comedy Central. While the Daily Show is in fact a satire at heart, its relevancy and honest reporting has made it an actual news source for a large audience. Guests have included everything from United States presidents and other political powerhouses to celebrities and athletes.
"Rosewater' opens up in theaters nationwide on Nov. 7th, 2014.
