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Nov 14, 2014 Web Exclusive By Shawn Hazelett

Rosewater might surprise fans of Jon Stewart, who probably won’t expect a film of such serious tones to mark his directorial debut. The Daily Show host has been long cemented as one of America’s great satirists, and a film that tackles politics through humor—like Dr. Strangelove or Wag the Dog—might seem more likely. For Stewart, he doesn’t retain a sense of humor despite all the wrongs in the world, but because of it. As he puts it, “[Comedy] is the enzyme that I use to process these events.”

True as that may be, the funnyman has occasionally shelved his jokes in favor of boxing gloves over the years. Though most punches are directed towards right wing news media, he’s even gone after Rachel Maddow, who he openly admires. He explains, “You can be critical of things that are not holding up the ideal of what you might imagine journalism to be. But then at the same time, it’s important to demonstrate what that ideal might be. Because places are cutting back on the finances of journalists and now a lot of them are out there without the infrastructure and support of these big news organizations. They’re freelancing, and they’re on their own.” He continues, “And that’s something that should be revered, protected, honored. Criticism comes from a feeling of disappointment in an ideal. And when you recognize that ideal, I think it’s important also to highlight it and to celebrate it, and to try and preserve it, and protect those who are risking so much to bring it.”

Such ideals are central to Rosewater, but the choice to express them through an inherently dramatic story lies within the film itself. Leading into the 2009 Iranian election, the BBC dispatches journalist Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Brunel) to cover the imminent collapse of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime. He acquaints himself with the situation so well that Bahari himself is interviewed by—surprise, surprise—The Daily Show. The scene is self-referential, self-deprecating, and elicits a good laugh, but it actually exists to serve a greater purpose.

After Ahmadinejad’s unexpected victory, demonstrators storm the streets of Tehran. Tensions reach a boiling point and soldiers begin shooting into the crowd. At great personal risk, Bahari decides to film the massacre, exposing the oppression to the world. He is arrested soon after and charged with being a spy, a ludicrous accusation that is supported by one piece of tangible evidence: a recording of his appearance on The Daily Show in which correspondent James Jones makes a lighthearted joke about being a spy. Such a simple misunderstanding would carry dire consequences: Bahari—tasked with proving the impossible, tortured when he couldn’t—wound up in prison for 118 days. On top of everything, he missed the birth of his firstborn child.

Naturally, Stewart was plagued by guilt, however undeserved. He campaigned for Bahari’s release every night on The Daily Show and—after it was granted—invited him on to discuss his ordeal. The two struck up a relationship which—coupled with Stewart’s need for atonement—sparked a mutual interest in creating a film. After the release of Bahari’s memoir Then They Came for Me, the gears were in place.

“The beauty of [Bahari’s] memoir—that’s where it really all stems from,” says Stewart. “His ability to recall that and be generous enough to share that. It’s not an easy thing for people to share. And luckily I think Maziar finds it cathartic in some ways to be able to do it.”

Stewart’s own need for catharsis required the majority of his filmmaking choices to be rooted in fact—or so he thought. Indeed, it ended up being the heroic journalist Bahari who would provide one of the world’s greatest entertainers an invaluable piece of advice. Stewart explains, “Originally, when Maziar and I would first talk about it, I was a purist. I would say, ‘This must be done in Farsi, and it must be done with a cast of actors who had all been imprisoned in Iran!’ And Maziar would say very calmly, ‘But don’t you want people to see it?’”

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Rosewater is now in theaters. To read our review of the film, click here.