“Considering that the EU has imposed the strongest, inhumane and illegal sanctions on Iran, we are naturally thinking of boycotting the Venice Film Festival,” Ali-Reza Sajjadpur told the Tehran Times. This would not, however, be a great sacrifice for the regime. First of all, although Sajjadpur said Iranian films are the “highlight “ of Western film festivals, no Iranian film has even been invited for this year’s Venice competition. One Iranian film has been selected for an out-of-competition screening, but that film—“The Paternal House” by director Kianush Ayari—is in disfavor with the regime and has not been approved for screening without “corrections.”
