Iran's Minister of Culture: It is not advisable for certain films to be screened

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran announced the prevention of the screening of certain films that are deemed "not advisable" to be seen, citing "references to the issues of 2009" and "bad education" as problematic aspects of these works. Ali Jannati, on Wednesday, February 17, during a government meeting, stated in an interview with ISNA that some films have not yet received screening permits, emphasizing that "there are several films that are generally deemed inappropriate for release." Jannati added regarding the reasons for preventing the screening of these works: "Some of them touch on the issues of 2009, which have been very explicit, and we have prevented them; also, some other films have been made that contain elements of bad education that cannot be corrected." The Minister of Culture further emphasized that "as much as possible, we will correct the films that have been prevented from screening," stating: "Some films that have been screened so far have been released with about 30 to 40 corrections, and despite this, they have sold well." Ali Jannati also announced: "There are some cases where correction is no longer possible, and their nature is such that they cannot be corrected, so we have to keep them." In another interview with IRNA, the Minister commented on this year's festival films. Jannati positively evaluated the 34th Fajr Festival, stating: "Some films also had issues that will be examined at the start of their screening." This year, as in previous years, temporary screening permits were granted to films participating in the Fajr Festival, requiring them to obtain new permits for public screening. "I Am Not Angry" by Reza Dormishian, "Daughter's House" by Shahram Shah Hosseini, "Lovely Trash" directed by Mohsen Amiri Youssefi, "Father's House" by Kianoush Aiyari, and "Resurrection" directed by Ahmadreza Darvish are among the works that have not received public screening permission for various reasons in the past two years. Recently, it was reported that the Minister of Culture issued a letter to Habib Ilbeigi, head of the supervision and evaluation department, instructing the archiving of the film "Daughter's House" directed by Shahram Shah Hosseini. This news was published by the Tehran-based newspaper "Cinema" in its January 5 issue. The report stated that the film "Daughter's House" has received a screening permit "four times" and ultimately, despite numerous amendments and the removal of some scenes deemed "problematic" by the Ministry, it was banned. "Daughter's House" addresses the issue of "virginity" in Iranian society, and its screening last year at the Fajr Festival was accompanied by some controversies; after the festival, some websites and media accused this work, like some others, of blackening the image and called for its ban. "I Am Not Angry," the second feature film by Reza Dormishian, is also among the controversial works of Iranian cinema, which some opponents have attributed to the "sedition current" and have prevented its screening by pressuring the Ministry of Culture and even threatening the Minister with impeachment in Parliament. This film tells the story of a star student who has been expelled from university and is looking for a suitable job to convince the father of his beloved girl to agree to their marriage. In Dormishian's film, alongside the main storyline, there are references to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's promises during his years in power, the situation of expelled students, and some political events of recent years. "Lovely Trash" directed by Mohsen Amiri Youssefi is also among the works that officials of the Ministry of Culture have explicitly mentioned several times regarding its non-screening. The story of this film takes place in the house of an elderly woman living with her middle-aged daughter. On one of the days after the 2009 elections, some election protesters fleeing from security forces enter the elderly woman's house and hide there. After they leave the house, the elderly woman notices a mark on her door, and neighbors tell her that security forces will likely visit her house in the coming days... "Father's House" and "Resurrection" are also among the controversial works of Iranian cinema that had only two and one day of screening opportunities, respectively, before being taken down. "Father's House," directed by Kianoush Aiyari, which was made in 2010, explicitly portrays some oppressive issues against women in an Iranian family. This film was only on screen for two days before its showing was halted. "Resurrection," directed by Ahmadreza Darvish, was screened for only one day and was taken down due to protests from some individuals and threats to burn down the cinemas showing it. Opponents stated that the portrayal of Abbas ibn Ali, the brother of the third Imam of Shia Islam, in this film was the reason for their opposition.