A War on Women: Bronze Star at El Gouna, after Bari and Hot Docs

Some films you follow for months through contracts, chain of title and deadlines, until at some point they stop being a file and become something you want to see travel everywhere. A War on Women, directed by Raha Shirazi and co-produced by Doppio Nodo Double Bind, the production company we represent as legal counsel, is one of them. In October it reached Egypt, and came home with an award.

The film

A War on Women reframes the 2022 Iranian uprising not as a spontaneous revolt, but as the eruption of a feminist resistance built over more than forty years. The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police drew global attention; the film goes further, tracing the long and often suppressed history of women’s struggle against the world’s only theocratic regime, from the first protests against mandatory veiling after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to the young women who risk their lives in the streets today.

It weaves together the journeys of seven women, among them Mahnaz Afkhami, Masih Alinejad and Golshifteh Farahani. It was written by Raha Shirazi with journalist Samira Mohyeddin, and it is Shirazi’s first feature.

The film’s journey

On 22 March 2026 the film opened the Meridiana section of the Bari International Film Festival in its world premiere, at the Teatro Kursaal Santalucia. We were in the room, with Raha Shirazi, Samira Mohyeddin and activist Elahe Tavakolian.

In April it had its international premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, one of the world’s leading documentary festivals. In May it was previewed in Rome at the Nuovo Sacher, with a public conversation at the Casa Internazionale delle Donne, and on 28 May it opened in Italian cinemas, distributed by Filmclub Distribuzione with the patronage of Amnesty International Italia. It then screened at Doc Edge in New Zealand, Encounters in South Africa and DOXumentale in Berlin, and on 10 October at the Book Pride fair in Genoa, one of our two home cities.

Bronze Star at El Gouna

At the 9th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, A War on Women won the Bronze Star for Best Documentary. El Gouna has become one of the main showcases for Arab and Middle Eastern cinema, alongside Cairo, Red Sea and Marrakech. For a film about Iranian women’s resistance, being recognised there carries a meaning of its own.

The legal work behind a documentary

A documentary like this one involves several co-producers, archive footage shot in secret, testimonies from people at risk and distribution across many countries. Behind its journey from festivals to cinemas there is legal work the audience never sees: the co-production agreements, the chain of title, the rights in archive material, the releases from the people who tell their stories, and the festival and distribution contracts.

Our work does not end when a contract is signed. It means standing beside a film when it meets its audience, in festivals and cinemas. Courageous stories deserve to be seen, and to be protected.

FAQ

What is A War on Women about?

It tells the story of Iranian women’s resistance against the theocratic regime, from the protests against mandatory veiling in 1979 to the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, through the stories of seven women.

What awards has A War on Women won?

In October 2026 it won the Bronze Star for Best Documentary at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.

Who directed and produced A War on Women?

It was directed by Raha Shirazi, who wrote it with Samira Mohyeddin. It is produced by Rosamont, Doppio Nodo Double Bind, Eolo Film Productions, Minerva Pictures and Luce Cinecittà with Rai Cinema, and distributed in Italy by Filmclub Distribuzione.

What is DANDI.media’s role in the film?

DANDI.media is legal counsel to the production company Doppio Nodo Double Bind and appears in the film’s credits.

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