Former CEO of House of Cinema and Four Other Filmmakers Banned from Activity

An additional report from news agencies regarding the issuance of activity bans for some filmmakers by the judiciary indicates that Reza Mirkarimi, the former CEO of the House of Cinema, has also faced a ban due to airing advertisements for his latest film on satellite networks. Mr. Mirkarimi was the CEO of the House of Cinema until recently but handed over his responsibilities to Manouchehr Shahsavari at the end of July. This well-known director has won numerous awards at various domestic and international festivals, including the Crystal Simorgh at the Fajr Film Festival in 2001, 2004, and 2007, and his latest film 'Daughter' was nominated in seven different categories at the 34th Fajr Film Festival. The film 'Daughter' has been screening in theaters in Tehran and other cities since July of this year. According to reports from Mehr and ISNA news agencies, in addition to Reza Mirkarimi, Mustafa Kiai, Alireza Sarti, Abdollah Alikhani, and Amir Parvin Hosseini, as producers of the films Barcode, Dracula, Lollipop, and Zapas, have also faced judicial bans, and three film offices, Film Iran, Nortaban, and Pouya Film, have also been subjected to judicial restrictions. The Deputy for Evaluation at the Cinema Organization has told these news agencies that the special investigator handling the case, with a special directive from the head of the judiciary, has requested in a letter to the head of the Cinema Organization to prevent any services or permits from being granted to these filmmakers and film distribution offices 'until further notice.' In this regard, ISNA quoted Habib Ilbeigi as saying, 'We have been prohibited from issuing new permits for these individuals, including construction, screening, and even home screening licenses, until further notice.' Mr. Ilbeigi stated that a meeting was held on Tuesday afternoon with the filmmakers mentioned in the prosecutor's letter, and the subject was communicated to them. In this meeting, Reza Mirkarimi and Abdollah Sarti were not present, and according to Mr. Ilbeigi, the attendees 'rejected any cooperation with the Gem Network.' In recent months, the issue of airing advertisements for some films currently screening on satellite networks has been met with judicial action, including in June when the producers of three films, 'Nameless Alley,' 'Eternal and One Day,' and '50 Kilos of Cherry,' were summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office in this regard. At that time, the producer of 'Nameless Alley' announced that Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, who was simultaneously visiting the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office, was present at the court session for this film and suggested that 'a group be formed to address the cinema industry's advertising issues.' The airing of film advertisements previously led to the temporary suspension of the film 'We Don't Get Used to It' directed by Ebrahim Ebrahimi, but on June 15, the deputy prosecutor of Tehran stated in a letter to the head of the Cinema Organization that the continuation of the screening of 'We Don't Get Used to It' was permissible. In this context, the 'ban on the activities of some filmmakers' due to the airing of their works on satellite networks, the request from the Producers Council for a review of the suspension of 'We Don't Get Used to It,' and the return of tensions to Iranian cinema with the suspension of two films are notable developments.