EFP 67: Director Maryam Haddadi on her documentaries Accused Number 41 and Between Us

Update: 2025-10-22

Description

On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone talks to recent University of Edinburgh filmmaking graduate Maryam Haddadi about her documentary self-portraits Accused Number 41 (2024) and Between Us (2025).

Maryam studied the MA in Film Directing at Edinburgh College Art and her graduate film Accused Number 41 focuses on an incident that happened in her native Iran when she was arrested by Guidance Control (better known as the morality police) and falsely accused of dressing provocatively. The film was recently shortlisted for the 2025 Student Oscars - the only film from a Scottish University to make the finals.

Commissioned by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap scheme, Between Us is a tender portrait of motherhood focusing on Maryam and her four year old son Masih. The film recently screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, with more screenings to come in Glasgow and Inverness.

Maryam tells Pasquale about her first experiences of filmmaking in Iran and then reveals how her approach to documentary filmmaking was shaped by her time at ECA. Discussion then turns to Accused Number 41 and Between Us.

More information on Maryam's work is available via her Instagram profile (@maryamhaddadi.films)