Watch a Free Screening of Rosewater at the MFA [Updated]

Pop culture enthusiasts likely identify the forthcoming film Rosewater, Jon Stewart’s directorial debut, as two things:

1. The reason Stewart time off from the Daily Show in summer 2013, giving John Oliver the chance to prove his hosting capabilities. (HBO offered Oliver Last Week Tonight afterward.)

2. A movie about Iran that is not Argo. Scared, Affleck?

In all seriousness, Rosewater, by the looks of the trailer, was worth the eight-week Daily Show hiatus. Based on BBC journalist Maziar Bahari’s bestselling memoir Then They Came for Me, the film covers Bahari’s 118-day detainment in Iran following the country’s 2009 presidential election.

The authorities believed Bahari was a spy, and went as far as to use a Daily Show clip, a comedy bit with Jason Jones, as evidence. During his detainment, Bahari said he was frequently tortured and interrogated, and because he was blindfolded, could only identify his interrogator as “Rosewater.”

Here’s a clip from Rosewater when Bahari is accused of talking with “spy” Jason Jones:

And here’s the actual Daily Show clip:

After his release and the publication of Then They Came for Me, Bahari returned for an interview on the Daily Show (below) when Stewart announced their partnership to make a movie.

Stewart, at the end of the aired interview, joked that Matt Damon should play Bahari. Bahari then threw out Will Smith’s name. Of course, neither of those actors were really appropriate. In Rosewater, Bahari—an Iranian Canadian—is portrayed by Mexican actor Gael García Bernal.

The movie opens November 14, but you can attend a free advance screening of Rosewater at the Museum of Fine Arts on Tuesday, November 4.

Maziar Bahari will take part in a post-screening discussion of the film via Skype.

Free, tickets required, first come, first served starting at 5:30 p.m., screening at 6:30 p.m. Limit two tickets per person, mfa.org.

Update, Tuesday, November 4, 1 p.m.: Due to the election, Jon Stewart will not Skype in after the screening as previously planned.