A Culture Ministry official
threatened last Friday to
take disciplinary action against cast and crewmembers involved in producing films without an official license.
The Culture Ministry’s Supervision and Evaluation Office (SEO) Director Alireza Sajjadpur made the announcement after filmmaker Mohammad Rasul-of’s unlicensed film “The White Meadows,” won two awards at Dubai’s 6th International Film Festival December 16.
Rasulof received the festival’s Special Jury Prize in the Asia-Africa Feature category and Hassan Purshirazi won the Best Actor Award for his role in the film.
The film revolves around a man named Rahmat, who has to travel to various islands and collect the tears of the islanders. While the inhabitants have been giving Rahmat their tears for many years, no one knows what he has been doing with them.
Despite much positive international attention given Iranian films, Iran’s Culture Ministry is now taking a hard stance on those that have not been given official permits..
A screenplay must first be approved by the Culture Ministry. Then the director must obtain a production license. In addition, the film’s producer must apply for a screening license from the ministry for a domestic premiere and a separate license for a foreign screening.
“As a member of the new team managing Iranian cinema, once again, I announce that we will take action against artists who collaborate in producing unlicensed films; henceforth, this office will punish them,” Sajjadpur told the Fars News Agency.
In early October, just few days after he was appointed SEO director, Sajjadpur warned Iranian actors about participating in unlicensed films.
“‘The White Meadows’ was produced a year ago when I was not in charge of the SEO, so I cannot initiate any action concerning its production and its foreign premiere. However, I am now announcing that we will take serious action against directors who make films before obtaining a production license,” he said, without specifying what type of action would be taken.
“This decision has been made to promote justice in professional Iranian cinema due to the fact that many Iranian filmmakers have invested substantial amounts of time to receive a production license,” Sajjadpur said.
During the past decade, award-winning Iranian directors Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Bahmad Ghobadi and others have made films without applying for a production license. Their films, which have premiered in many international festivals abroad, have received awards and praises from festival organizers but their films are not seen in Iran. DVDs of the films do circulate illicitly throughout Iran, however. Ghobadi’s latest film “Nobody Knows about Persian Cats,” won a jury award in Cannes this year, despite the fact that it was made without a permit after being rejected several times.
As a result of censorship and production restrictions, some major Iranian directors including Ghobadi, and Mohsen Makh-malbaf—currently president of the Asian Film Academy—have moved abroad to escape Iranian state controls.