Woman, life, freedom. It's been the rallying cry of Iranians protesting the Islamic Republic

since the death of Masa Zina Amini in 2022, following her arrest for improperly wearing her

hijab. Thousands of protesters, including women and children, were arrested in the months

following Amin's death. Many spent time at the notorious Avine prison in Tehran.

One night a fire broke out, threatening the lives of the detained people inside.

Three years later, details of the fire and of the prisoners remain scarce,

but now one survivor has given her account, and it's the subject of a new short film called That Night.

I recently spoke with the director, Hoda Sobani.

Hoda, thank you so much for being here.

This film tells the story of the night of the massive fire at the Evin Prison in Tehran,

through the eyes of your friend, who's a survivor of that fire, Neda Naji.

Why did you feel strongly about telling Neda's story?

Since I was 19, I had many friends who ended up in prison

because of the political activities back in Green Movement 2009,

and then after that many other friends.

And Neda was one of my best friends in Iran who ended up in prison,

and I wanted to have the conversation with her,

so she doesn't carry this pain by herself.

And also, the fire night had a huge impact on her life and my life and many others,

and was a big news headline all over the war.

So I was like, this is a very literal story of why even prison is a place that the government

and regime is using it to oppress more its opponent.

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