Joseph Hovsepian will never forget that day in early 1994 when he was called into a local morgue to identify his his father's body. Bishop Haik Hovsepian, an evangelical Christian leader in Iran, had been stabbed 26 times in the chest, his death an apparent martyrdom for standing up to Iranian officials for their mistreatment of Christ followers. No arrests were ever made.

One month before Bishop Hovse-pian's murder, an Islamic judge in northern Iran had condemned Mehdi Dibaj to death for "apostasy"—for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity. The bishop launched an international campaign for the sentence to be overturned, and then disappeared on January 19, 1994. Twelve days later, his son Joseph got the call from the morgue.

The experience eventually led Joseph, who was then a budding filmmaker, into telling his father's story. Joseph and his brother Andre went on to make A Cry from Iran, a compelling 55-minute documentary about their father and the persecution of Christians in Iran.

"This is the story not only of my father's martyrdom, but also of the victims who have been killed and continue to be tortured for being Christians," says co-director and producer Joseph Hovsepian. "The chronicling of this life and death puts a focus on the many stories of persecution that are happening as we speak."

Joseph and Andre have put their hearts and souls into the project, which included filming in five countries, interviews with 40 political and religion experts, family, and friends, 42 months of production, and 200 hours of footage.

Andre Hovsepian, who was 10 when his father was killed, says, "It was as if I lived with my father for the entire year it took to edit the movie. I had feelings of joy and sorrow. It was a good reminder of how Christians suffer for their faith."

Iran is ranked No. 3 on Open Doors' World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most severe persecution. Also, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom lists Iran as one of the nations on the "Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs)" for its religious violations.

A Cry from Iran has won awards at several film festivals. The DVD is available for purchase at www.acryfromiran.com or www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Persecution Report is presented in cooperation with Open Doors USA, which serves the Persecuted Church through training, Bible distribution, and community development. For more information, call 1-888-5-BIBLE-5 or visit www.odusa.org.

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