Response of the Minister of Culture and the Jury to Protests Regarding the Fajr Film Festival Judging

Following the Minister of Culture's remarks about the 'unethical' and 'illogical' nature of criticisms regarding the judging of the Fajr Film Festival, the jury of the festival also rejected the criticisms while announcing that 'fundamental changes in production and display relationships' are necessary, and the festival must 'change its nature.' The jury of the 35th Fajr Film Festival issued a statement on Thursday, February 10, rejecting the criticisms regarding the festival's judging and stated that it does not feel obligated to respond to those who, according to the jury, 'resort to spreading rumors and using vulgar language, slander, and defamation.' According to IRNA news agency, the authors of this statement emphasized that 'intimidating' the judging process from a specialized and artistic judgment into 'political forms and politicization, cliquishness, and banding is not a cultural matter.' The jury also stated that the Fajr Film Festival is a 'remnant' of the past era of Iranian cinema and must have 'changed its nature' following 'fundamental changes in production and display relationships.' According to the authors of this statement, digital cinema requires 'different behaviors and relationships' in all quantitative, qualitative, content, execution, and even aesthetic aspects, while the appearance of this festival remains the same as before. Mohammad Mehdi Dadgou, Mohammad Reza Takhtkeshian, Shahram Asadi, Mohammad Reza Honarmand, Akbar Nobakht, Iraj Raminfar, and Roya Nonahali were in charge of judging the 35th Fajr Film Festival. After the announcement of the nominees for the Crystal Simorgh of the 35th Fajr Festival on the evening of Tuesday, February 7, protests arose regarding the neglect of certain films in the judging process and the nomination of several films in specific categories. Meanwhile, the teams of the films 'Khafgi' by Fereydoun Jiriani, 'Sadma' directed by Mohsen Gharaei, 'The Half-Day Story' by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, 'Vilaeiha' by Monir Qaydi, 'Twenty-One Days Later' directed by Mohammad Reza Khordmandan, 'Narges Season' by Negar Azerbaijanian, and 'We Need a Simple Worker' directed by Manocher Hadi have expressed their protests regarding the neglect of the creators of these works by the jury in the media and social networks. An interesting point about this year's nominees is the nomination of Peyman Yazdaniyan for the soundtrack of the film 'Without Date, Without Signature,' while music is only heard in the film's end credits. Niki Karimi, actress, director, and producer of the film 'Azar,' also wrote on Thursday in a text protesting the judging of the Fajr Film Festival that 'do not let the incomprehensible selections at the festival discourage the old and especially the new generation of cinema.' However, the Minister of Culture stated that the protests from films that did not qualify for the competition section are 'not firm and logical' and 'not ethical.' Reza Salehi Amiri also announced that a committee has been formed under the leadership of his senior advisor and the head of the Cinema Organization, which will respond to all protests. Hojjatollah Ayubi, the head of the Cinema Organization, also said that this committee was formed for the 'diagnosis of issues' of the Fajr Film Festival and 'is not for the jury.'