My Favourite Cake

Mahin (70) lives alone in Tehran, since her husband died and her daughter left for Europe. After an afternoon of tea with friends, Mahin decides to break her lonely routine and breathe new life into her love life. In her search for a single man, she visits places from her past and muses about the happy years in freedom.

In the park she helps a young woman who is in conflict with the morals police about her headscarf, and later in a restaurant she meets Faramarz, a friendly single man her age. He is a taxi driver 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 invites Faramarz to taste her favorite cake, which leads to an unexpectedly 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 was enthusiastically received by the press and won two awards. Unfortunately, the filmmakers were unable to attend the premiere, as the Iranian authorities refused them permission to travel. The Iranian regime considers the film controversial, as it shows a woman not wearing the mandatory hijab and people drinking alcohol.