Jon Stewart to screen first ‘Rosewater' footage for foreign buyers at Toronto

Comedian Jon Stewart speaks during the "12-12-12" benefit concert for victims of Superstorm Sandy at Madison Square Garden in New York December 12, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

By Greg Gilman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is heading to Toronto this weekend to pitch potential foreign buyers on his feature directorial debut, "Rosewater," an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. At an event hosted by Sierra/Affinity, the company representing the film's international rights, Stewart will screen footage from the Iranian political drama. "Rosewater" is an adaptation of Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy's memoir, "Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival." The New York Times best seller covers Bahari's 2009 arrest in Iran where he covering an election protest. Gael Bernal Garcia stars as Bahari, who was interrogated and tortured by the Iranian government during 118 days of captivity. Stewart took a three-month hiatus from his Comedy Central fake news program to shoot the film, which he also wrote. Production wrapped in mid-August. The comedian is scheduled to resume his "Daily Show" hosting duties on Tuesday night.