‘General Sorayya’ a wake-up call for MKO charm offensive: Director

The 41st Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF) contestant ‘General Sorayya’ is a wake-up call for Iranians not to believe Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) propaganda, says director Leili Aaj.

Speaking at a press conference held after a screening of her film ‘General Sorayya’ at the event, Aaj referred to MKO’s recent attempts to portray a more favorable image of itself, and said, “Don’t believe the MKO; they are trying to sanitize their dark past.” 

“The group is attempting to clear its image; they assume that we have forgotten their history over the past 40 years, but we shall never forget,” she noted.

The idea of the film occurred to Aaj when she was researching how to make a movie about her granddad.

Aaj found a photo depicting women behind Camp Ashraf’s fence, the base of the MKO, searching for their sons who were held at the base.

The photo inspired Aaj to change her mind about the subject of the film. Putting her focus on the women instead of her grandfather, she found Sorayya Abdollahi and several other mothers, whose children were taken captive by the MKO.

Produced at the Owj Arts and Media Organization, ‘General Sorayya’ portrays mothers longing for their children being held captive in Iraq at Camp Ashraf which has officially been designated as a terrorist group.

‘General Sorayya’ follows Sorayya Abdollahi, an Iranian woman who travels to Iraq to meet her son at the camp. Behind the camp’s fence, she finds many other mothers who have been unable to visit their children.

Carrying the pictures of their sons, Abdollahi and a number of the mothers also attended the conference.

“As the film shows, I’m the mother of Amir Aslan, who was kidnapped by the MKO in Turkey in 2002; my son is still held captive by the MKO,” said Abdollahi who is portrayed by actress Jaleh Sameti.

Abdollahi praised Sameti for her performance and said, “This film portrays all of our pains; as a result of this I feel that I have been reborn.”

“The film is simply perfect. Aaj excellently portrayed precisely what has happened in reality,” she asserted.

The Fajr festival coincides with the Ten-Day Fajr ceremonies across Iran, marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Since its establishment in 1982, the festival has played a vital role in the development of Iranian Cinema.

The event has screened many preserved classics from Iran cinema in previous runs of the international film event annually held in Iran.

Supervised by Iran’s Ministry of Culture, the festival hosts veteran directors and new filmmakers from Iran and across the world every year.

The 41st edition of the FIFF will run through February 10, 2023.

MM/FM