January 18, 2010

Planet Iran editorial

So far this year, the which has been a mainstay of cultural and cinematic crowning glory of the Islamic regime, now, in it’s 28th year, has been a non-starter.

The Film Festival scheduled for January 25th through February 4th has had one filmmaker after another dropping out, refusing to show their films and has had one polite refusal after another by other cineastes who had been invited to participate on the jury.

The regime-run media outlet, Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported that Farhad Towhidi, the deputy director of the board of directors of the House of Cinema has also rejected the invitation to join this year’s jury. A member of the board of directors of the House of Cinema said: “Given Towhidi’s position at the House of Cinema and his directorship of the screenwriters guild and the uproar in the cineastes community (in Iran), he was unable to accept the offer to join the jury in this year’s film festival.”

In recent days, veteran Iranian actor (photo above right), director and screenwriter, (photo left) and actress Fatemeh Goodarzi (photo below right) have also turned down offers to join this year’s jury.

Last week a group of Iranian cineastes issued a statement to their international colleagues calling on them to speak out against the Islamic regime’s incursion on the Iranian protesters and to reject invitations to attend this year’s Fajr Film Festival. The statement points out: “This year, the regime-run festival is taking place amid the Islamic regime’s oppression; the participation of any of our international colleagues would be construed as a willful disregard of the righteous struggle of the innocent people of Iran.”

The statement adds: “Following the post-election protests, a number of Iranian cineastes have been imprisoned, others have been prohibited from leaving Iran and others have been forced to flee Iran. Members of the Iranian film community have chosen to boycott this festival in order to protest the Islamic regime’s violent treatment of the people of Iran. Other filmmakers have been forced, against their will to screen their films during the festival. The festival coordinators have rescheduled the dates of the festival which would have normally taken place on February 11th, in order for any foreign cineastes not to be present during the next wave of protests in Iran.”

Film director (photo right) has also announced: “This festival is too trivial for me to even discuss it; I have rejected the offer to join the jury.”

This year twelve foreign films have been scheduled to be shown at the festival. Germany, Spain, France and Turkey are among countries who have been invited to participate.