Former Iranian political prisoners talk about adjusting to life in a new country. One should not think that everything is okay just because the person has reached asylum in a safe place. It takes a long time to recover from what one has experienced, and it is hard to be open to others. Drawings by Masoud Raouf are included.

One of the speakers talks about “the pain of survival.” What did she mean?

In 1992 a young Iranian student hanged himself on the outskirts of a small Ontario town. Having escaped the Ayatollah's regime and found a new home in Canada, he could not escape his past. News of the young stranger's death hit home with Masoud Raouf. He too was part of the generation who fought for democracy during the reign of the Shah. With The Tree that Remembers, Raouf assembled a group of Iranians - all former political prisoners like himself, who were active in the democratic movement. Blending their testimony with historical footage and original artwork, he honours the memory of the dead and celebrates the resilience of the living.