How I secretly filmed the For Neda documentary

guardian.co.uk

The Iranian regime is trying to neutralise the impact of protest victim Neda Agha-Soltan's death. The real story has to be told

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F48SinuEHIk&feature

Last November I went to Iran to film the family of Neda Agha-Soltan in secret for a documentary, which is now circulating virally in Iran even before its public release on 14 June. Neda was killed in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election in Iran last June and a video of her death was circulated around the world in a matter of minutes.

The film – entitled For Neda – looks at her life and death through a series of firsthand interviews with her family, together with amateur video footage both before and after she was killed. Directed by the British award-winning film-maker Antony Thomas, For Neda is a project by Mentorn Media and HBO.

My first experience with Neda's story goes back to the time I was still based in Tehran reporting for the Guardian. Two days after her death I was asked to interview her family but nothing was known about her except her first name and some speculation about her age and her profession. However, I tracked her family down, thanks to a call from a friend who knew someone in her neighbourhood, and wrote an article for the Guardian anonymously.

When I went back to Iran, this time to film Neda's family, I had no idea whether I would be able to hire a professional crew to work with me covertly in Tehran, or even whether the family would agree to be interviewed.

The family's phone calls were being monitored and they were under surveillance, so at first I had no direct contact with them. But a few days after my arrival in Tehran, I received a message that they had agreed to meet me.

My problem then was finding a cameraman to work with me. Having been a print journalist my whole life, I had no experience of film-making but had brought a very simple video camera with me to cover that eventuality – and this saved the project.

In fact, I think it was better than having a professional cameraman with me, because it gave the interviews much more intimacy. It also helped me to go in and out of their house easily without attracting attention.

I will never forget the first day I went to Neda's house. As I rang the bell, my stomach was churning, fearing someone would arrest me at any moment.

Before my arrival, I had regarded her as a symbol of freedom, but later she became someone I felt I had known for many years. She was a girl like millions of others in Iran, who wanted a bit of personal freedom. A girl who was not into politics, who had not even voted, but a free spirit who couldn't remain silent when the Iranian government were killing her countrymen.

The government had built up so many false stories since Neda's death, first by claiming that she was alive and living happily in Greece. Later they said she was killed by the BBC's correspondent in Tehran; at some point they accused the Green movement of killing her, and later the CIA. According to their final account, which was put together in a documentary by Press TV, she was killed by the doctor who witnessed her death.

After spending a month in Tehran interviewing all members of the family, I had to find a way to ship my tapes out of the country. I found nobody who could help, so I put 15 tapes of my interviews in my luggage and left Tehran to London. I still remember how stressed I felt when my flight got delayed for three hours; the whole time I was thinking that the Iranian government was coming for me.

Back in London, Antony Thomas worked full-time on the film until recently. Fortunately, HBO and Mentorn Media agreed to make Farsi and Arabic versions, as well as English. The whole film has been put on YouTube before its public release and full versions of it in each of the three languages can be downloaded from This is For Neda. Although the government cut the electricity in some parts of Iran when Voice of America showed the Farsi version for the first time two nights ago, it is now circulating virally inside Iran; millions have watched it on TV, some on the internet and others are distributing it for free.

The Iranian government is desperately trying to neutralise the impact of Neda's death. So far, they have made two documentaries – the most recent one will be broadcast for the anniversary of her death on the state-run TV. The authorities have advised the family not to talk to the press and put pressure on them to participate in the official documentary of Neda's story – but they refused.

The Iranian regime is repressive, but not unsophisticated in its repression. It uses all the technical means at its disposal to impose its own version of the facts. It is also proactive, often anticipating the opposition's next move. Its Neda documentaries are just one example.

Opponents of the regime must adopt sophisticated methods, too, especially at a time when street demonstrations are suppressed. That is why we need films such as For Neda.