My Iranien Paradise

My Iranian Paradise

A film about the connections between Iran and the Western
world, seen through the eyes of director Annette, who lived
in Persia, present day Iran, for the first 22 years of her life.
Her father was a Danish engineer and her mother, a Polish
survivor from one of Stalin’s gulags. They met in Tehran in
1942. Annette recalls the Iran of her youth as “the happiest
place under the sun”. When the Shah was deposed, life
changed for foreigners. Oil politics began to tear the world
asunder and the Islamic Revolution erupted. Compelled to
draw a line from the past to the present, Annette returns to
Iran for the first time in many years. There she observes the
powerlessness of women, the tyranny of religion, and the
economic condition of the people. The film is a remarkable
personal story that can be used to deepen, foster, and
simply make the case for intercultural understanding.
Katia Forbert Petersen (b. 1949, Poland) has a degree
in cinematography from the Polish Film School in Łodz and
has shot some 150 films, including a number of features.
She has lived in Denmark since 1969.

Annette Mari Olsen (b. 1947, Denmark) grew up in Iran
and England. She has a Master of Arts from the Polish Film
School in Łodz and works as film director, producer and
editor.