Iranian Directors' Guild Protests Minister and Cultural Officials' Positions

The Iranian Directors' Guild, in a letter addressed to Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, published on Wednesday, June 9, has protested the minister's and the ministry officials' positions, accusing him of giving space to a 'law-evading current'. The directors criticized the Ministry of Guidance's handling of films that it itself has granted screening licenses to, and the support given to protesters from the 'law-evading current'. According to the signatories of this letter, this current has been using cinema as a pretext for their political conflicts in recent years. Members of the guild pointed out that the minister's actions regarding certain films diminish the dignity of the Film Screening Council and lead to isolation and despair for Iranian filmmakers. They argue that the members of the Film Screening Council are elected directly by the Minister of Culture and Guidance and then make decisions about films. However, they later invalidate their decisions regarding film screenings, causing the public to lose trust in the licensing authority. In recent years, several films that had received licenses from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance have been banned or prevented from entering the home entertainment network following protests from individuals and groups generally affiliated with the Islamic Republic's conservatives. One recent case is the comedy film 'Fifty Kilos of Cherry', directed by Mani Haghighi and produced by the Shayesteh brothers. This comedy was screened in Tehran cinemas during Nowruz 1395 and grossed over 13 billion tomans, but after its screening in Tehran ended, its continued showing in other provinces of Iran was prevented. Some clerics and Ali Jannati himself expressed dissatisfaction with the film's content. On June 8, Jannati responded to an ISNA reporter regarding the controversies surrounding this film and two others, stating that the film had slipped past the screening license issuers and that after reading the related protests, he realized they were valid. Jannati described 'Fifty Kilos of Cherry' as having content issues that 'depict unhealthy and unconventional relationships contrary to moral and Islamic values'. He also stated last month in a meeting with Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi that if he had known about the nature of this film, he would not have allowed its production and screening. Habib Ilbeigi, the Deputy for Evaluation and Supervision of Iranian Cinema, announced the film's ban on June 7. In recent years, another case like the film 'Santouri', directed by Dariush Mehrjui, also failed to receive a screening license after obtaining a production and screening permit at the Fajr Festival and winning an award. The Iranian Directors' Guild concluded their open letter to Ali Jannati by requesting that the avenues of Iranian cinema 'not be closed off by personal and group tastes and that support for production and screening licenses be provided.'