It bears

hearing again and again.

How the Iranian regime imprisons, tortures and kills its own people.

Often women who wear their clothes "wrong", or peacefully protest against the repressive system. 

Nasrin Sotoudeh is the human rights activist and lawyer who seemingly tirelessly reminds of the rights that have been curtailed for the Iranian people for decades: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to dress as one wants. 

Energetically

, she flits between the moral disciplinary legal complex, her office and various courts.

One day she represents young women who have been arrested for defying the compulsory veil, the other day she defends Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Since 2010, Sotoudeh himself has been in and out of prison.

At the time of writing, she is on medical leave from a 12-year prison sentence. 

American filmmaker Jeff Kaufman lets Nasrin take her place and shine undisturbed with her strong legal pathos.

Around shakily filmed interviews with her, he then expands with what is needed: brief history and interviews with Nasrin's husband and other activists.

It is a film that tells about resistance without experimenting with form.

About the fight for freedom.

For happiness. 

I

actually recognize her right away.

She is the woman who, with a smile and a handful of roses in her arms, steps into filmmaker Jafar Panahi's car in the film Taxi Tehran.

Nasrin smiles as often as she sharply negotiates in court.

We get to see her treat Panahi to cookies at her home while helping him get his travel ban lifted.

She is fearless in her conviction about what is right and wrong:


Why waste human life?

The interviews

with Sotoudeh have been done by an anonymous film crew in Iran.

When she is imprisoned again, the possibilities for filmed interviews cease.

Still, the audio recordings of Sotoudeh's phone calls from Evin prison to his family home are among the strongest features.

Trivial conversations about love and the weather, trying to be calm in front of the children.

But the voice sounds increasingly desperate as time goes on.