Rosewater Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gael Garcia Bernal

Gael Garcia Bernal grew up acting. He got his start in Mexican telenovelas before moving to London to study acting.
His film debut was in the 2000 Mexican thriller "Amores Perros" He went on to star in acclaimed films such as "Y tu Mama Tambien" (2001) and "El Crimen de Padre Amaro" (2002). Bernal is fluent in Spanish, English, Portugese and French. He is a well-known activist for human rights and democracy.
Bernal and Luna starred together in "Y Tu Mama Tambien". Montiel worked with Bernal in "El Crimen de Padre Amaro". De la Serna, an Argentine actor, worked with Bernal in "The Motorcycle Diaries" (2004).

Answer: pornography

The official looks over Bahari's books, magazines and videotapes and claims that almost everything is "pornography". It becomes almost funny. At one point Bahari agrees that "Maxim" magazine could be considered "pornography."

Answer: Being Communists

Bahari's father had been jailed as a Communist by the Shah of Iran, and had been tortured by the SAVAK, the Iranian secret police. His sister Maryam was imprisoned by the Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s, also for her political beliefs. They both make appearances as visions during the jail scenes in "Rosewater."
Turkish actor Haluk Bilginer played Baba Akbar and Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani played Maryam.

Answer: Newsweek

Bahari was working for "Newsweek" in June 2009 when he covered the elections and the riots that followed immediately after. Bahari was born in Iran, but moved to Canada when he was 21. He graduated from Concordia University in Montreal and became a documentary film maker. Most of Bahari's films have dealt with Iran and the Middle East. Bahari was "Newsweek's" Iran correspondent from 1998 until 2011. Bahari has done documentaries for the BBC.

Answer: motorcycle

When Bahari first arrived at the Tehran airport, his driver had a taxi. He learned that was only temporary when the driver showed up with a motorcycle the next morning. They travel around the city by motorcycle, visiting both supporters of President Ahmadinejad and opponents. His driver, Davood, is seen at Evin Prison towards the end of the film. British actor Dimitri Leonidas played Davood.
Tehran does have a subway system, which first opened in 2001. By 2011, only three lines (Lines 1, 2 and 5) were open. Fares were 1000 Iranian Rial, approximately 4 cents US.

Answer: Jason Jones

Jason Jones, a native of Canada who became a US citizen, interviewed Bahari shortly before the 2009 presidential election. He plays himself in "Rosewater" and recreates much of the interview he did with Bahari. Jones has been working on "The Daily Show" since 2005. He is married to fellow correspondent Samantha Bee.
Mandvi was born in Mumbai, but grew up in England and the United States. He has been a regular correspondent since 2007.
Oliver was with "The Daily Show" from 2006 until the end of 2013. He hosted the show in the summer of 2013 when Jon Stewart was busy directing "Rosewater".
Rob Corddry was on "The Daily Show" from 2002 to 2006. Since then, he has appeared regularly in films and on television.

Answer: Secertary of State Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is shown during a CNN interview in which she urged the Iranian government to release Bahari. In September 2011, Clinton told Canadian officials (Bahari is a Canadian citizen) that the United States backed their efforts to release Bahari.
Clinton's public statements reached the Iranian government and Bahari was actually given the nickname "Mister Hillary Clinton" by his jailers.

Answer: Evin prison

Evin prison is located in northwestern Tehran. It was constructed by the Shah in 1972, and has held political prisoners both under the Shah and the Islamic Republic. The prison houses a large number of political prisoners, many of whom are intellectuals, earning it the nickname "Evin University."
Ghezel Hesar is Iran's largest prison. Gohar Dasht is another state prison in Iran. Both are near the town of Karaj. Abu Ghraib was the infamous central prison in Baghdad, and was closed by the Iraqi government in 2014.
Bahari was arrested June 21, 2009 and released on October 20, so he spent 118 days in custody, just under four months.
Bahari was accused of being a spy, and the authorities used the interview he had done with "The Daily Show" to prove that he had been "collaborating with American spies."
Bahari was asked by the Iranian government to spy on "revolutionary elements" both inside and outside of Iran. Knowing that it was the quickest way out of jail, Bahari signed the agreement, never intending to honor its terms.
When he reneged on the spying, Bahari was tried in absentia by a revolutionary court and sentenced to 13 and a half year in prison plus 74 lashes. He cannot return to Iran until the Islamic Republic falls. "Rosewater" is based on Bahari's book "Then They Came For Me" which was published in June 2011.

Answer: New Jersey

Fort Lee, New Jersey, was mentioned specifically. Towards the end of his incarceration, Bahari decided to play with his interrogator, and created wild stories about sexual depravity in the United States. He paints New Jersey as a place filled with massage parlors - with "reasonably priced" massages no less.
It is not surprising that director Stewart would give a shout-out to his home state of New Jersey. While Stewart was born in New York City, he grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Stewart frequently mentions Jersey topics on "The Daily Show."

Answer: Smashing satellite dishes

The last scene in the film takes place at the headquarters of the opposition that Bahari visited. Soldiers are destroying a collection of satellite dishes the counter-revolutionaries have been using to send their message to the outside world.
The video tape Bahari shot that was most directly responsible for his arrest was of police shooting at demonstrators. He uploaded the video to the BBC and was arrested the next day.