Rahsheeda Ali | November 12, 2014 3:15 pm

Comedian Jon Stewart’s directorial debut his theaters this Friday. Rosewater tells the report of journalist Maziar Bahari, a London-based Newsweek and BBC reporter imprisoned after casing Iran’s 2009 post-election protests. Bahari (played by Gael Garcia Bernal) grew up in Iran, and was accused of being a spy and was detained and beaten for 118 days.

Though the film’s premise sounds heavy compared to Stewart’s typical schtick on The Day after day Show, that fact shouldn’t turn audiences away. Before deciding whether to see Rosewater in theaters, we’re bringing you everything you need to know about the film.

Stewart’s first feature film has ties to his day job.

While casing Iran’s elections, Bahari appeared in a humorous Day after day Show sketch. The journalist answered questions from comedian Jason Jones, who played a fake Western spy, while filming in a Tehran cafe. Unfortunately, footage from the sketch was on Bahari’s mainframe and served as fodder for the unjustified claims brought against him during his imprisonment. The film is titled after what the reporter nicknamed his interrogator, who wore rosewater perfume.

After Bahari’s release, Stewart felt especially compelled to tell the journalist’s report. The comedian initially wanted to produce a film adaptation in 2010, while Bahari was still prose Then They Came For Me, his book about the experience. As Stewart tried to pitch the narrative, he realized he had to take things into his own hands. He wound up prose and directing the film.

Rosewater isn’t a comedy, but Stewart finds ways to inject humor.

Remember, we’re production with one of the country’s best comedians here. If there’s a chance to make viewers laugh, Stewart’s going to take it. Though many scenes evoke hope and distress, audiences will chuckle at how Bahari uses his prankish wit against his interrogator. In the film, Bahari makes up salacious tales to play off his torturer’s evident sexual repression. And who knows why the questioner was obsessed with New Jersey, but the fixation gave Bahari even more fuel to manipulate his torturer.

In real life, Bahari can still really drop jokes about the harrowing experience. “When they put you in prison, in solitary confinement, the first thing you think about is not really these philosophical, existential questions about life,” the journalist told VH1. “The first question is, ‘Where am I going to pee?’”

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Tags: Jon Stewart, Gael García Bernal, Rosewater