The filmmakers sentenced for filming a woman without a hijab in Iran: "We're waiting for them to come and put us in jail."

Mahin is an elderly widow. Her daughter has gone abroad, and she hasn't seen her grandson grow up. Mahin's days are all the same: she goes to the market, waters the plants, and watches soap operas on television. Once a year, she invites her friends over for dinner. Tired of so much loneliness, one day she decides to go out and find a man.

She wanders around luxury hotels and remembers when "we wore low-cut tops and heels and went to see Al Bano and Romina Power at the Hyatt." But that was before the revolution. Nowadays, no one wears makeup, low-cut tops, or heels. And the Hyatt is empty. But Mahin doesn't throw in the towel and finds a man her age, equally lonely and also eager for someone to chat with and spend time with.

Thus begins My Favorite Dessert , a tender and moving film that addresses something as universal as loneliness and is now hitting Spanish screens. There are helpless women in every corner of the world, but Iranian women have it a little harder: relating to unmarried men is a crime, just like dancing or drinking alcohol.

Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha directed one of the year's most beautiful films, but they haven't been able to see it. Not even when it premiered at the Berlinale. The Iranian government sentenced them to 26 months in prison because the actress who plays Mahin appears without a hijab in some scenes and, in addition, receives a man at home, dances, and drinks wine. The filmmakers explain this to La Vanguardia via Zoom.

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How do women live in Iran?

MM: Life has been very complicated for women over the past 47 years. There are many limitations. You can go to jail for an extramarital affair.

BS: When we started writing this film, we knew we had to forget the red lines and show real life. Iranian women lead a double life. They wear headscarves on the street, but not at home, where they also dance and drink, although alcohol is prohibited, even for men. Everything is done in secret in Iran; otherwise, you'll be arrested.

Is there a moral police?

MM: After the revolution, morality patrols were created, a police force that arrests mainly women and sometimes boys who don't dress the way they want. They're everywhere and detain women who don't wear hijab or who wear makeup. I've been arrested hundreds of times. I've had to write letters for hours promising not to do it again. I've been fined for not dressing properly, but I've been lucky because I've never been tortured.

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You're now convicted for depicting the reality of Iran in the film. Are you under house arrest?

BS: No, but we can't travel. We've each been sentenced to 26 months in prison. We're waiting for them to come and get us and throw us in jail. It's like having the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. It's not easy to live like this. We're thinking about how we can make films. Maybe we'll shoot underground films.

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Aren't you afraid to speak up in interviews like this?

We shouldn't speak, and we can't express ourselves on social media. But remaining silent puts us in an even more uncertain situation. They want to silence us, but it's our obligation to speak out about our situation.

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Can women at least study in Iran?

MM: Yes, because women are still the same people they were before the revolution. At that time, they were ministers, they did everything, and they had a very high level of education. We've never accepted those rules and have always studied, even if it was in secret. If you look at the statistics, women have more education than men. This has nothing to do with people. It's the law and the government.