Producer of 'Jam-e-Daran' Protests the Ban on Actors Ahangarani and Kootari

The producer of the Iranian film 'Jam-e-Daran' has protested against the ban on the images of Pegah Ahangarani and Baran Kootari, two actors in the film, stating that the Islamic Republic of Iran's broadcasting organization informed him that 'the names and images of these two actors should not appear in the film's teaser.' Jamal Sadatian, the producer, said in an interview with the Tabnak news website on Tuesday, November 25, 'I am unaware of the main issue; all I know is that two nights ago, I was contacted by the broadcasting organization and told that the names and images of these two actors should not be in the film's teaser.' Sadatian pointed out that the news of this ban has spread on social media, adding, 'The broadcasting organization has no justification for such actions, which only creates a greater divide between the people and the national media.' He further stated, 'During the eleventh government, there was supposed to be more unity and solidarity, and we were to witness fewer dual behaviors.' The Tabnak website also criticized the ban on showing the images of these two actors on state television despite the Ministry of Culture granting permission for the film. The Tehran-based newspaper Shargh reported last Sunday that one day after the official screening of 'Jam-e-Daran,' the images of Pegah Ahangarani and Baran Kootari, the two main actors, were removed from its teaser. Hamidreza Qotbi, the film's director, reacted to this action by saying, 'The television itself has censored the images of these two actors. The teasers on the first day were shown in full, and on the second day, the images and names of Pegah Ahangarani and Baran Kootari were removed, and we are ultimately astonished and surprised.' According to the Shargh newspaper, it has been 'apparently said' that the reason for this censorship is the legal cases against these two actors. Pegah Ahangarani was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to 18 months in prison in a preliminary court in 2013. She was a supporter of the reformist movement during Mohammad Khatami's presidency and was active in the election campaign for Mir Hossein Mousavi in 2009. Baran Kootari was also a supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi and had attended several events in support of him. In recent years, the broadcast of images of several actors on state television has been banned. For instance, the name, image, and voice of Fatemeh Motamed-Arya were also removed from the teasers of the film 'Yahya Did Not Remain Silent' directed by Kaveh Ebrahimpour following her ban. However, the Iskanews agency reported that last week, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya's image was broadcast in the teaser of the film 'Here Without Me' in the program 'Fifth Art' on the Shoma network.