The feature film “Tatami” — co-directed by Israeli and Iranian filmmakers Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi — is a groundbreaking collaboration between Israeli and Iranian directors. The story of how the two came to work together is as compelling as the film itself.
Set to open in select U.S. theaters on June 13, “Tatami” follows the story of Leila, an Iranian judo athlete who faces political pressure from her government to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than compete against an Israeli rival in the final. Leila must choose between following orders or risking her life, her coach’s life, and the safety of her family.
The story, inspired by true events, first came to Nattiv’s attention when he learned about Saeid Mollaei, a world champion judoka who was instructed by Iranian officials to deliberately lose his semi-final match at the 2019 World Championship to avoid a potential final against Israeli judoka Sagi Muki. Iran has a longstanding policy of refusing to compete against Israeli athletes. Mollaei was reportedly warned he would face serious consequences if he defied the order.
His public criticism of the regime and decision to flee made him a target, placing both him and his family in danger. Mollaei ultimately escaped to Germany, where he was granted refugee status. He later competed for Mongolia as part of the International Olympic Committee’s refugee team.
In July 2022, the long-delayed match between the Iranian and Israeli judokas finally took place at the Budapest Grand Slam. Mollaei won by immobilization in the third round of the tournament, and he and Muki — now friends — embraced after the fight.
Muki celebrated the moment in a post on Instagram as a “victory of sport over politics,” praising “the ability of sport and friendship to bridge all the gaps.” “Thank you, brother,” Mollaei replied.
“I started writing a script based on that story in the middle of the pandemic,” Nattiv told The Journal. “And then the Iranian women’s revolution erupted following the murder of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Iranian female athletes found themselves caught up in the same kind of turmoil as Saeid Mollaei and that sparked my imagination.”
Nattiv realized that it wouldn’t feel right for an Israeli filmmaker to tell this story alone. Acknowledging that he didn’t know much about Iranian culture, he decided he needed a partner — an Iranian one — to help bring the story to life authentically.
Nattiv realized that it wouldn’t feel right for an Israeli filmmaker to tell this story alone. … He needed a partner — an Iranian one — to help bring the story to life authentically.
After watching “Holy Spider,” directed by Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi, he was deeply moved by the performance of lead actress Amir. Right after the screening in Los Angeles, he approached her and proposed they collaborate. “I told her it was one of the most powerful performances I’d ever seen and asked what she thought about co-directing with an Israeli-American filmmaker,” said Nattiv.
Amir who won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in the film, asked for a week to consider the idea. “For her, agreeing to this project was a bold statement,” Nattiv said. “The Iranian regime had already persecuted her and she knew this would put her at even greater risk.”
Two weeks later, she got back to him and said simply, “I’m in.”
This was no easy decision and Amir knew there could be serious consequences to collaborating with an Israeli director. In 2008, she was forced to flee Iran after becoming the center of a national scandal when a private sex tape — allegedly recorded by her then-boyfriend — was leaked online. Amir was branded a criminal by the regime, and faced a potential prison sentence and 99 lashes. She sought refuge in Paris and restarted her acting career there with Mohamad Rezaierad’s play, “Silent Taheregan’s Dream.”
In a statement released at the time, Amir reflected on the nature of the Iranian government, saying, “What I have learnt about the Iranian government is that as long as you are afraid they can arrest you, they can kill you, they can make trouble around you. But as long as you are not afraid, it is going to be fine.” Nattiv recalled her telling him, “All my instincts are telling me, ‘Be careful, this will put you in a very problematic position.’”
Still, she felt the story was too important not to tell, and agreed not only to co-direct, but also to play the role of coach Maryam and serve as casting director. “She deeply respected the fact that I didn’t let my ego take over and say, ‘I can do this alone, I don’t need a partner,’” Nattiv said. “She brought in Iranian actors from ‘Holy Spider’ — amazing actors — and she deepened her own character in the script. I also brought on Iranian screenwriter, Elham Erfani. Suddenly, it became a cast of women, including women producers and a female director.”
“As an Iranian, I was already very familiar with some of the athletes with the same story,” Amir said. “I also had a chance to get to know personally a judoka who had been through the same issues and became part of a refugee judo team. The story itself was something that I knew was important to be told and Guy’s artistic vision was a great motivation for me to get involved in the movie, not only as an actress, but also in casting and production, and ultimately, as a co-director.” Nattiv’s wife, actress Jaime Ray Newman (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Rumor Has It”), is both one of the producers and has a role in the film.
Nattiv, who won an Oscar for his 2018 short film “Skin” and directed the 2023 film “Golda,” starring Helen Mirren, initially considered making “Tatami” as a short film. But when he pitched the story to Keshet International in Israel, they told him that the story deserved to be a full-length feature.
Erfani and Nattiv were inspired by many Iranian athletes who faced similar challenges by the Iranian regime. “Sadaf Khadem the first female boxer from Iran who defected to France and became a champion of women’s rights was one of our inspirations,” said Nattiv. “She faced many obstacles while still concentrating on her sport. Another heroic Iranian sportswoman is the rock climber Elnaz Rekabi, who competed without her hijab knowing she could face death back home, and Kimia Alizadeh, who was the golden child in Iranian fencing during the Rio Olympics and decided to defect with her husband because of governmental threats.”
Amir naturally took the lead on cultural authenticity and working closely with the actors. “The way we started our collaboration was more or less for me to focus on actors and the Iranian aspects of the story, and Guy was focused very much on the technical aspects,” she said.
That division of labor proved productive, and according to Amir, “once we went into the shooting process, everything became very smooth and fluid between us.”
The production took place in Tbilisi, Georgia and had to be conducted in absolute secrecy. “Two days before shooting, an Iranian assassination squad was caught trying to kill an Israeli businessman,” said Nattiv. “I got a call from the Israeli embassy warning me to be careful. Zar got a similar call from the French embassy. We had bodyguards and made the film completely under the radar.”
For Nattiv, the character of coach Maryam had to come from a female perspective — and Amir was key. “Zar is one of the deepest, most emotional, nuanced performers I have worked with,” he said. “Every day she came in with 100 new ideas to deepen Maryam. It was glorious to watch her and shape this character with her.”
Maryam, a former judo champion turned coach, isn’t just a character with physical strength — she represents a woman scarred by the system, searching for redemption in a place where women’s rights are continuously under siege.
With Sadaf Khadem, the real-life Iranian boxer who had to flee the country after defying government restrictions, serving as a consultant, the film was grounded in authenticity. But it was Amir who brought Maryam’s emotional arc to life with precision and vulnerability, elevating the narrative into something much more powerful — a quiet but fierce rebellion against injustice.
“For me the film is all about pushing boundaries, fighting for freedom, sticking to your own values and goals and staying on the side of justice and humanity,” said Amir. “These themes will always be universal because they are so important. People may experience struggle in different ways and situations, but in the end we all live in the same world.”
“For me the film is all about pushing boundaries, fighting for freedom, sticking to your own values and goals, and staying on the side of justice and humanity. … People may experience struggle in different ways and situations, but in the end we all live in the same world.” -Zar Amir Ebrahimi
It all came together beautifully, resulting in a gripping film that holds your attention from start to finish. The title, “Tatami,” refers to the traditional Japanese mat used in judo competitions.
The story takes place over the course of one intense day at the World Judo Championships in Tbilisi. Leila Hosseini (played by Arienne Mandi of “The L Word: Generation Q”) is the captain of the Iranian team, determined to win the gold medal. Back home in Iran, her loving husband and young son, along with friends packed into their living room, watch her matches with pride and excitement. At her side is coach Maryam Ghanbari, a former judo star herself, who supposedly injured her leg just before she was set to compete against Israeli champion Yael Arad at the Seoul Olympics.
Upon arriving at the stadium, Hosseini is warmly greeted by Israeli judoka Shani Lavie (Lir Katz). The two athletes seem friendly and exchange pleasantries. As the competition advances, both Hosseini and Lavie defeat one opponent after another. But early in the day, Hosseini begins receiving calls from the head of the Iranian Judo Federation, pressuring her to withdraw before she’s forced to face Lavie in the final. The pressure intensifies, escalating into threats — some relayed through Iranian embassy officials in Tbilisi — putting Hosseini’s resolve to the ultimate test.
“The film was shot in black-and-white to reflect the world these women wake up to — a black-and-white world,” said Nattiv. “It’s a monochrome world, their heads are covered, and it felt representative of the environment they come from. The frame is also square, symbolizing the constriction of their world. The claustrophobia in which they live, the inability to dance, to sing …”
During the process of working on the film, both directors became very close. They found they have a lot in common. Nattiv calls her “my sister.”
“We feel the same way about what’s happening in the world. We have exactly the same taste in food, music art and films, more European, more boundary-pushing, so it was a very organic process,” said Nattiv. “We just clicked and our first day on set was like we had worked together as partners for years. We want to make another film together.”
During the film’s editing, Nattiv arranged for Amir to visit Israel. The Iranian woman was shocked to experience the country she had heard so much about throughout her childhood. For years, she had been brainwashed against Israel, but here she was, sitting in a Tel Aviv café, enjoying the food and the vibrant street life.
“She said, ‘It feels like home, it’s like Iran, it’s the same vibe. It’s unbelievable,’” said Nattiv. “They were taught that Israelis are the devil and we were also told that Iranians hate us. But it’s not true. Iranians and Israelis can be friends, but only if we are outside of our countries.”
“They were taught that Israelis are the devil and we were also told that Iranians hate us. But it’s not true. Iranians and Israelis can be friends, but only if we are outside of our countries.”- Guy Nattiv
Nattiv said he has many friends in the film industry from the Middle East, including Jordanians, Iranians, and Palestinians. He often urges them to channel their anger about the political situation in a more effective way. “I tell them, stop engaging in the online poison, make movies. Art is our weapon.”
These days, Nattiv is working on his next film, “Harmonia,” a personal story loosely based on the life of his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who left her family in Israel in the 1980s and joined a cult deep in the forests of Virginia. Carrie Coon, who recently starred in “The White Lotus,” will play the role of Rita, who joined the cult.
The plot follows her two daughters, Ella and Jo, who set out on a journey to rescue their mother — only to find themselves slowly drawn into the manipulative group.
A few years ago, Nattiv considered making a documentary about his grandmother’s story, and traveled to Virginia himself to see where his grandmother had lived. According to Nattiv, she handed over all her Holocaust reparation money from Germany to the cult leader. She left her husband, moved to the heart of a Virginia forest, took drugs, and eventually died of starvation at the age of 69. She was buried there.
“My grandmother was born in Poland and endured the Holocaust in the harshest way. Her entire family perished, and she suffered from PTSD and depression. She carried survivor’s guilt — ‘why was I the one who survived?’ Many Holocaust survivors struggled with this, and back then, no one really knew how to treat it or what to do with those feelings. Some survivors talked about what they went through, and others didn’t. And so, in her 50s, she left the family and traveled to join a cult whose leader was Israeli.
“My mother got used to the fact that her son tells stories, and she appreciated that I was making a film about her mother because she knew it came from a place of love, not judgment,” Nattiv said. “The film isn’t based directly on her story but is inspired by my grandmother. It’s rooted in the DNA of what she experienced.”
Another personal film Nattiv and his wife are planning to shoot is “Life, Unexpected,” about their own journey as a couple, their four-year long-distance relationship until Nattiv received his green card and moved to the U.S. and the challenging road they took to become parents.
In 2013, the couple endured a devastating stillbirth. After that, they went through numerous unsuccessful IVF treatments. Eventually, with the help of a surrogate, their daughter Alma Ness was born in September 2018. A year later, their second daughter, Mila Nico, was also born via surrogate, premature at 25 weeks and weighing just 1.5 pounds. She spent 80 days in the NICU at a Las Vegas hospital before finally being released home.
A proud father, Nattiv frequently shares photos of his daughters on Instagram and Facebook. “The entire exhausting, emotional journey to parenthood was more than worth it,” he said.
“Everything we do today comes from a deeply personal place — it’s art that comes from initiative. We don’t wait around for something good to fall into our laps. That’s why we started our own production company, New Native Pictures,” Nattiv explained. “Most scripts that come your way as a director don’t blow you away. There was one that I read and loved and agreed to do — but that’s rare.
“We’re currently working on five projects at once and also bring in other writers. We’re like a creative farm — a small boutique producing things we truly believe in. We’re a team, we talk about everything. I write, she listens to my ideas. It’s fun because it all stays within the home. We’re making art that says something about life.”
“Tatami” opens June 13 at the IFC Center in New York City and on June 20 at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles. A special prerelease screening will take place on June 11 at the Museum of Tolerance, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, Maccabi USA, and Project Max.
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