La Passion de l’Imam Hossein

In 680, the Imam Hossein, grandson of Mohammed, set out from Medine with all his family and his escort to reach Kufa, which had supposedly rebelled against Yazid, the Caliph of Damas. His caravan was waylaid at the Kerbela Oasis by Yazid’s army, who mercilessly massacred the men and sent the women and children to Damas as slaves. Each year, this drama, one of the founding myths of Shiite Islamism and modern Persia, is celebrated in Iran during the Ashura festivities, with gatherings round the Imam’s catafalque, processions of self-flagellators and theatre performances (Tazieh). After 18 years of exile, Reza, the director’s brother, has returned to the village of Mehrabad, to take over the role that his father used to act – that of the Frankish ambassador Ferengi, who, in Damas, had dared to criticise the cruel treatment inflicted on the Prophet’s descendants.