Minister of Culture: The film 'Tales' has no issues; 'I Am Not Angry' needs to be revised

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran recently commented on banned films, stating that the film 'Tales' has no issues for screening, while 'I Am Not Angry' may be screened if necessary revisions are made. Ali Jannati, on Thursday, November 22, spoke with Mehr News Agency about the controversial film 'I Am Not Angry,' saying, 'Revisions need to be made, but the changes we want have not yet been applied. If revisions are made, the film may be screened.' Regarding the film by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and the issues it has faced, he stated, 'I have seen the film 'Tales' myself, and the Supervisory Council has reviewed it; this film has no specific problems.' Mr. Jannati defended the permits for films, stating, 'If a film is defensible, meaning it has adhered to the permit granted for its production, we will naturally grant a screening permit as well. However, if someone brings a screenplay and then makes a different film, it cannot be defended.' The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance criticized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government for issuing permits for some films, saying, 'The films that are currently being discussed, we were not aware of their production at all, and they were permitted during the previous administration, and some of them were even banned in that government.' The spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture also mentioned on November 20 that eight films are facing issues for screening, and the Cultural Commission of the Parliament opposes the screening of these works, and currently, none of them are on the screening agenda. Hossein Nooshabadi listed these films as 'Calm Streets' and 'Reward' directed by Kamal Tabrizi, 'Father's House' by Kianoush Aiyari, 'Report of a Celebration' by Ebrahim Hatamikia, 'A Hundred Years to This Year' by Saman Moghadam, 'Lovely Trash' by Mohsen Amir-Yousefi, 'I Am Not Angry' directed by Reza Dormishian, and 'Tales' by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. According to him, regarding the film 'I Am Not Angry,' the Ministry of Culture has taken action and ordered its screening to be halted, although 'some institutions had opinions regarding this film.' The spokesperson for the Ministry also stated that there is currently no request for the screening of the film 'Tales.' Ahmad Salek, the head of the Cultural Commission of the Parliament, stated on October 8 that he had requested in a letter to the Minister of Culture to prevent the screening of eight films. Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, the head of the Article 90 Commission of the Parliament, also requested in a letter to Hojjatollah Ayubi, the Deputy Minister of Cinema, to prevent the screening of films he claimed were 'related to the 2009 unrest' until complaints and objections related to them are addressed. The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran responded to these letters on October 28, stating that no one is supposed to determine the fate of film screenings or bans, and the Ministry of Culture has its own specific regulations in this regard.