Father's House: A 'Banned' Film Finally Set to Release

After much back and forth, one of the banned films of recent years, 'Father's House' directed by Kianoush Ayari, is finally set to be released to the public. This film, made in 2010, has not had the opportunity to be screened until now and was one of eight works that the Iranian Parliament had requested to be banned by sending a letter to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. However, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), it seems that Ayari's latest work will be screened 'without any changes' starting from December 29 in several cinemas in Tehran and other cities under the group known as 'Art and Experience.' The 'Art and Experience' group is a collection of cinemas launched a few months ago aimed at showcasing films with a more niche audience, and has previously screened films like 'Parviz' by Majid Barzegar, 'Fish and Cat' by Shahram Mokri, and 'One Night' directed by Niki Karimi. Kianoush Ayari's film, which has been primarily banned due to the 'violence' in the first episode, will be screened with an age restriction for audiences over 16. The story of 'Father's House' unfolds in five episodes, starting in 1929, with most criticisms directed at the first episode, where a father and his fifteen-year-old son murder a family daughter over honor issues and bury her in the basement of their house. This shocking and horrifying episode, which Iranian censorship officials say should be removed from the film, is something Ayari refuses to comply with. The story continues in four other episodes, each set several years apart, showing the same family in the same house at different times and their changing circumstances. The film was made with the budget of the police force, but after a while, officials from this institution joined the ranks of the film's opponents and even threatened Ayari with legal action after its screening at the Venice Film Festival. The status of other banned films remains unclear. Although it seems that finally one banned film will be released, albeit in a few specific cinemas and in a limited manner, the status of other films is still uncertain. 'I Am Not Angry' by Reza Dormishian, although the Minister of Culture has stated that its screening file is not closed and it will be screened if necessary corrections are made, appears to lack motivation from the cinema organization to incur costs for its release. 'Tales' by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami also has a relatively similar situation, with significant sensitivities surrounding it, as opponents consider it an example of black portrayal of society. Several other films, such as 'Report of a Celebration' by Ebrahim Hatami Kia, 'Lovely Trash' by Mohsen Amiryousefi, 'Calm Streets' by Kamal Tabrizi, and 'A Hundred Years to This Year' by Saman Moghadam also have unclear statuses, and even some of their creators are not actively pursuing the release of their films. Meanwhile, the only film 'Reward' by Kamal Tabrizi appears to be in a better situation, as in recent months, both the distributor and the director, as well as the screenwriter, have indicated in conversations that its release is imminent. All of this is happening while the main authority for censorship and issuing screening permits, Mohammad Ehsani, the Deputy for Evaluation and Supervision of the Cinema Organization, has been appointed as the director of the first television network and will leave the Ministry of Culture in the coming days. In recent weeks, there have been verbal disputes between current and former Ministry of Culture officials over the screening and production of certain problematic films from the perspective of some regime officials. Current Minister of Culture Ali Jannati recently blamed cultural officials of the previous government for granting permits for some controversial films. However, former Minister of Culture Mohammad Hosseini criticized the current Ministry of Culture, stating that the screening of certain films labeled as supporting sedition at last year's Fajr Film Festival was a form of 'defiance against the regime officials.' Hosseini pointed out that one of the justifications given by some individuals is that these films received permits in the previous administration, but even if they did, the nature of the screenplay has changed in this administration. According to the former Minister of Culture, the screening of such films has provoked protests from the devout, scholars, and media, as it reflects a disregard for the statements of regime officials.