THEor sport as a metaphor for life, private or publicis certainly nothing new in cinema. It is also in the case of Tatami – A woman fighting for freedomairing tonight Monday 1 June at 9.20pm on Rai 5. In this first ever collaboration between an Israeli director (Guy Nattiv) and an Iranian (Zar Amir Ebrahimi, also an interpreter), a victory in sport becomes the perfect tool to tell, for example, the commitment necessary to achieve one’s goals, and the meaning that a victory can have for an entire nation.
Tatami – A woman fighting for freedom on Rai 5: film plot on TV on Monday 1 June on TV
Leila (Arienne Mandi) is an Iranian judoka who is competing in the World Championships with one goal: to win the gold medal. A goal that seems anything but unattainable: coached by the stubborn Maryam Zar (Amir Ebrahimi), Leila defeats her first opponents without too many frills. However, he did not deal with his most fearsome and ruthless opponent.
Before the clash against an Israeli athlete, the Iranian authorities order her to pretend to have suffered an injury and retreatas they do not officially recognize Israel. With her freedom and that of her family at stake, Leila finds herself faced with a very complicated choice: obey the Iranian regime, as her coach Maryam implores her to do, or continue fighting for the gold.
“Tatami – A woman fighting for freedom”. (Imdb)
The film review
Tatami begins as an intense sports drama to flow into an equally intense political thriller. From the first scenes a suffocating climate is perceptible, evoked by the black and white and the small format of the shot. The Iranian regime looms over the protagonist’s head even before explicitly showing up. From then on, for the protagonist the weight of the competition adds to the weight of the consequences of her choices on her entire family. At home, her husband and little daughter follow her eagerly on television, when the police knock on their door.
“Always attack” is the warning that her coach gives her for battles: Leila also brings this spirit outside the tatami, sending a message to an entire nation. His case is taken over by the competition authorities and soon goes beyond the competitive dimension. The film’s merit is to convey a clear message of denunciation through a story that is always at maximum tensionwhich alternates Leila’s progressive climb towards the final and the progressive abyss into which her life risks falling. Sport becomes an opportunity to convey the universal value of the fight against injustice, not only in Iran.
The film is not based on a true storybut it is a work of fiction inspired by real events.
Leila’s concentration just before getting on the tatami. (Prime Video)
The cast and directors
Arienne Mandi (Leila) is an American actress of Chilean and Iranian origins. After Tatami, And appeared in the second season of The Night Agent. Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Maryam) is an Iranian actress with French citizenship. She won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in the film Holy Spider. The latter is also the director of the film together with Guy Nattiv, winner of the 2019 Oscar for best short film with Skins and then solo author of Goldafeature film starring Helen Mirren.
Filmed in Tbilisi (Georgia), Tatami it is not based on a single news story, but is inspired by true stories experienced by numerous Iranian athletes. Its cast also includes several Iranian actors, all of whom live in exile.