Roxana Samadi : “I want to remind people that, at our core, we are the same”

German actress Roxana Samadi is best known for her roles in Tatort, Para – Wir sind King and many more. For her latest project, Freiheit im Herzen, she has swapped being in front of the camera for taking over as the documentary’s director. She speaks to Discover Germany, Switzerland & Austria about the significance of this socially relevant documentary, her Iranian roots, and more.

Discover Germany: How did you become an actress? Has this always been your dream profession?

Roxana Samadi: “I actually couldn’t imagine doing anything else when I was a child. I think I always had an inner urge to imagine situations that were not connected to my own reality because that always broadened my horizons and changed the way I looked at the world.”

Discover Germany: What has been your favourite role to play so far?

Roxana Samadi: “I’m not sure if there is one specific role, but I love projects where you have the time and space to create the character from head to toe. This includes how the character moves, speaks, dresses, and behaves. These are the projects where you work closely and from early on with all the other departments, such as costume and makeup, and of course the director, so that all the layers of filmmaking come together to truly build a character. It requires a lot of time and effort, which is why not every production works this way, but whenever it does, it is truly magical.”

Discover Germany: Your latest project, as a director, is the documentary Freiheit im Herzen. What is it about? What social issues are addressed in it?

Roxana Samadi: “The movie was a reaction to what I witnessed in Germany after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in Tehran in 2022. That event sparked an uprising across Iran, starting in the region of Kurdistan, with the goal of toppling the Islamic Republic. The reaction of the diaspora all over the world was incredible to see. All of a sudden, Iranians outside the country came together, putting their differences aside and standing up for the people fighting and dying in Iran. I felt I had to capture what I was witnessing on the streets of Germany. The uprising was not just any uprising; it was the first feminist revolutionary movement in the world. In the name of ‘women, life, freedom,’ men and women, queer people, old and young, even children, people of different religions and ethnicities, risked their lives, hoping they could bring down the mullah regime. In times of social media, the online representation of that movement was incredibly helpful. It gave people outside the country the chance to amplify the voices of those inside and to demand action from their politicians. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. The film also shows how, over time, the diaspora began to argue and divide itself again. The people in Iran were executed and murdered, causing the protests to become quieter and the movement to not result in a revolution. What remains, however, is a society that has learned that those outside hear and see them and are ready to fight alongside them, and an outside society that proved that, once they put their egos and differences aside, it is possible to stand together as a force that can achieve a lot.”

Discover Germany: What do you want to achieve with the documentary? What’s the background?

Roxana Samadi: “I want to remind people that, at our core, we are the same. We come from the same place; the differences, we create them ourselves. Once we realize that, we can see each other and our struggles, and because of that, we can come together. And once we find each other, we have a power that no single person can have. That power is not the result of anger and hate, but it can be built on love—on love for each and every individual—and it can grow and spread through empathy and respect. Based on those principles, a world in which a woman is worth the same as a man or a nonbinary person is possible. A world in which your religion, ethnicity, or cultural upbringing doesn’t make you any less of a human. Based on love and respect, a world in which ‘women, life, freedom’ is the foundation is possible.”

Discover Germany: What was it like being behind the camera as a director?

Roxana Samadi: “It felt very natural because I didn’t think of myself as the director. I just felt the urge to capture the moment, and from that, I acted accordingly. This meant buying a camera, asking people to be my protagonists, finding partners, learning how to edit, and finding a composer and a sound designer. I took every single step one at a time, and all of a sudden, I had a finished movie. It was painful and exhausting, but it taught me so much, and now when I look back at it, I don’t know how I did it anymore. I think that’s part of the magic.”

Discover Germany: What else is planned for 2024/2025? What can we look forward to?

Roxana Samadi: “At the beginning of September, I will be at the Toronto International Film Festival to attend the World Premiere of Seven Days. It is a drama based on the stories of many women’s rights activists in Iran. An Iranian human rights activist, who has been granted a seven-day medical furlough, must decide whether to escape to freedom with her family or return to prison to continue her fight for equality and democracy. I had the honor of working together with my father on this project. This was an experience that I will never forget and that enriched my life immensely. Collaborating with him, watching him tell this story from the deepest place of his heart and soul, and literally risking his life moved and inspired me. The film will most likely be in German cinemas at the beginning of 2025.”

Discover Germany: And last but not least – what wishes and dreams do you have for the future?

Roxana Samadi: “I hope to be able to continue telling stories. I think that is a beautiful way to connect people. When I ask myself what our purpose is on this planet, I come to the conclusion that, having grown up as privileged as I did, I feel a responsibility to promote positivity rather than engage in conflict and negativity. Whatever position I tell them from, whether I act, direct, or hold a camera, it’s the stories that matter, and I wish to tell the ones that connect us with each other, that inspire us, that give hope, that show realities that are often not seen in society, and that are honest.”

Freiheit im Herzen will be shown at a renowned German film festival in October. Follow Roxana Samadi on Instagram for updates: @samadiroxana