The first trailer for Rosewater has hit the web, giving audiences a look at just what Jon Stewart was doing during his Daily Show sabbatical last summer.
Rosewater tells the true story of Maziar Bahari and is based on his memoir, Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival.
Bahari, who is played by Gael Garcia Bernal in the film, was working for Newsweek in 2009 when he went to Iran to cover the controversial election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the protests that followed. He was imprisoned for over 100 days, as the government assumed he was a spy for the West. The title of the film comes from a nickname one of his arresting officers used.
The film is expected to be in the running for awards, or at least distributor Open Road hopes it does well at the festival circuit. Open Road gave the movie an awards-friendly limited release date of Nov. 7. It will also be screened at Telluride this weekend. Rosewater will also be shown during the Toronto International Film Festival.
Some critics have already seen it. Variety gave the film a positive review, but Indiewire and The Hollywood Reporter weren’t that impressed with Stewart’s writing and directing abilities. This is, after all, the Daily Show host’s first film as a writer/director.
Check out the trailer here:
image of Gael Garcia Bernal courtesy of Famous/ACE/INFphoto.com