Kaveh Farnam, Producer: The Courage of Artists Who Reject Mandatory Hijab is Commendable

Despite threats, harassment, and government pressure, many Iranian artists and filmmakers, especially women, continue to support the widespread protests and criticize the repressive policies of the Islamic Republic in various ways. Recently, Afsaneh Bayegan, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Pantea Bahram, Katayoun Riahi, and Golab Adineh appeared at artistic events without the mandatory hijab, which received significant support from Iranian social media users. Kaveh Farnam, a film producer and member of the Independent Filmmakers Association of Iran, told Voice of America: "We all believe that the situation in Iran will not return to what it was seven or eight months ago. It has reached a point where even students affiliated with Islamic and value-oriented movements criticize the Supreme Leader, which is unprecedented." According to Mr. Farnam, "People are resisting this government, standing against repression, and engaging in various forms of civil disobedience. Artists are not separate from the people; filmmakers have a duty to stand with the people. In the worst conditions, they do not need to be ahead of the people, but they must be alongside them and accompany them." This film producer states: "The courage of artists and filmmakers who say no to mandatory hijab by rejecting it and protesting this law is commendable." Afsaneh Bayegan and Fatemeh Motamed-Arya participated in a ceremony honoring Attila Pesyani without the mandatory hijab. He further adds that recent meetings of a group of independent filmmakers with the grieving families of those killed in the protests, or families of protesters who are in prison, are truly impactful and commendable. Kaveh Farnam says: "Although the government continues to harass filmmakers, threatens and arrests them, interrogates them, denies them the right to work, or makes it impossible for them to operate, the support of artists for the people continues, and the Islamic Republic cannot stop this trend." According to Mr. Farnam, society is awake and continues its movement; all evidence indicates that this society will not return to what it was seven or eight months ago, and our dear filmmakers also act first as human beings and then as artists, fulfilling their duty and standing with the people." The producer also commented on the lack of selection of Iranian films in the main competitive section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, while last year two films, "Leila's Brothers" and "Holy Spider," were present in this section, and Zahra "Zar" Amir Ebrahimi won the Best Actress award at Cannes. According to Mr. Farnam, the same situation occurred at the Berlin Festival, where no Iranian film was present in the main competitive section. He adds that this issue should be examined from several angles, first that Iranian cinema did not really have a film worthy of the Cannes festival to present. Kaveh Farnam states: "In the list of selected works at Cannes, we see the names of respected filmmakers like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Wes Anderson, Ken Loach, and other prominent figures. We do not have many Iranian filmmakers in such a competitive space; of course, Mohammad Rasoulof, Jafar Panahi, and Asghar Farhadi are at such a level, but they did not have the conditions to make films. Mr. Panahi and Rasoulof were in prison, and Asghar Farhadi was also involved in very serious controversies and is outside Iran; he probably will not make his next film in Iran either." According to this film producer, "During the period that has rightly been called Mahsa's Revolution, there was practically no possibility of filming and making films in Iran for 4-5 months, and of course, one or two months prior to that, we witnessed a widespread crackdown by the government on Iranian documentarians, followed by the arrest of Rasoulof, Al Ahmad, and Panahi. In other words, there was no condition, time, or space for our independent filmmakers and prominent figures to work, and that is why we did not have any films to compete in prestigious film festivals." Kaveh Farnam adds: "It should be noted that world cinema is also experiencing a post-COVID period; the number of good films made in the last two years that have not been released is high, and for this reason, there is tough competition for participation in film festivals." According to Mr. Farnam, all these factors have led to Iranian films not being selected for the Berlin and Cannes festivals, and he believes that such conditions will exist at the Venice Festival as well. This member of the Independent Filmmakers Association of Iran provided explanations regarding the organization's call for the participation of works by independent Iranian filmmakers in the market of the 76th Cannes Film Festival.