My Favourite Cake

Mahin (70) has been living alone in Tehran since her husband died and her daughter left for Europe. After another afternoon of tea with her friends, she decides to break her lonely routine and breathe new life into her love life. In her search for a single man, she returns to places from her past and reminisces about the happy years she spent in freedom. Mahin hangs out in the park, where she bravely helps a young woman who is in conflict with the morals police because of an incorrectly worn headscarf, in a chic hotel coffee shop, and finally in a modest restaurant where food stamps for pensioners are exchanged. There she meets Faramarz, a modest and friendly single man of her age. He is a taxi driver and veteran and, like Mahin, has an independent spirit: he got into trouble with the authorities because he played a musical instrument in a wedding band. Mahin opens herself to a new romance and invites Faramarz to her apartment to bake him her favorite cake. It will be an unexpected, unforgettable evening... My Favourite Cake is the new film by Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha (Ballad of a White Cow). The film had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival where it received a very positive reception from the press and won two awards. The filmmakers themselves were unable to attend the premiere because they were denied permission to travel by the Iranian authorities, as the film is considered controversial by the Iranian regime because it shows a woman who does not wear the mandatory hijab and people drinking alcohol.