Inspired by the grittiness of paranoid thrillers from the 1970s, “Tatami” was sparked into existence by real-life cases of Iranian athletes defecting to other countries, from boxer Sadaf Khadem to Taekwondo champion Kimia Alizadeh.

Source: https://variety.com/2023/film/global/zar-amir-ebrahimi-guy-nattiv-tatami-1235711709/

It has since been claimed by a source close to Khadem that the 25-year-old has received multiple calls from people in Iran warning her against returning home while others have told her to come back and "solve her problem".

Source: https://cdn.dmcl.biz/articles/1132208/iran-chess-player-warned-after-no-hijab