TIFF: Jon Stewart's 'Rosewater' preps for big debut

TORONTO — Rosewater, Jon Stewart's directorial debut about the capture of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, doesn't debut at the Toronto Film Festival until Monday night, but the cast landed in Canada on Saturday, riding a wave of good buzz from the film's sneak peek in Telluride last weekend.

In a corner of the packed HFPA/InStyle party, where everyone from Jessica Chastain to Benedict Cumberbatch was spotting rubbing elbows, Bahari was there chatting with his onscreen counterpart, Gael García Bernal, who portrays him in the film. Stewart fielded questions from guests, beer in hand, a few feet away.

How was he feeling? "Usually people are dead when they make their stories on film," said Bahari wryly. "I'm happy that I'm not dead."

Rosewater is based on Bahari's memoir Then They Came For Me, which recounts his capture by the Iranian government while covering election protests in 2009 (participation in a Daily Show sketch was used against him while he was held). Bahari was interrogated and tortured for 118 days.

He can mostly view the film with emotional distance, Bahari says. "It's a translation of what I wrote, which is a translation of what happened to me," he says. "So there are two or three different stages of distance from me. On one level I'm watching it as a film. It's a great film. But of course, certain parts of the film are quite emotional and difficult to watch."

Bahari was on set to consult on Rosewater, and even screened the final film before Bernal. "I actually saw it for the first time, totally all together in Telluride," said the actor. "The film is getting a big reaction. I hope it will do as well here. You never know."

And Stewart as a director? "He's actually very good," said Benal.

"That's his skill," adds Bahari. "He knows he can present very serious subjects on his show into something funny that people understand, people can tolerate. So in the film, he's done the same thing. He's taken very serious subject matter and peppered it with some humor so people can understand the character better."

Rosewater will begin a limited release on Nov. 7