Director of 'Resurrection': My Film Aligns with the Views of Religious Authorities

Ahmadreza Darvish, after the screening of the film 'Resurrection' was halted, announced that he had obtained approval from religious authorities for the film's production, and that it was made in accordance with their views. The cinematic work 'Resurrection', which is about the Ashura uprising, was pulled from the screen on Wednesday, July 24, shortly after its screening began. Some opponents of the film's screening gathered outside the Shokufe Cinema in Tehran, clashing with cinema staff and calling for the film's copies to be burned. The main issue for the opponents of 'Resurrection' is the depiction of Abbas ibn Ali, the brother of the third Imam of Shia Muslims, during the events of Karbala. This film portrays, for the first time, the face of one of the legends of Shia history in the form of a film in a Shia-majority country. However, Ahmadreza Darvish, the film's director, stated after the news of the film's screening halt was released by the Cinema Organization on the evening of July 24, that 'the interpretation that the film's screening has been postponed is incorrect; rather, the Ministry of Culture has decided to stop the screening of this film.' Mr. Darvish also commented on the process of obtaining the production license for 'Resurrection', stating: 'The film's license was issued based on two principles by the Ministry of Culture; one is compliance with laws and the other is religious and customary considerations; certainly, if this film had been made without the approval of religious authorities, it would not have received a license from the Ministry.' He continued: 'The film 'Resurrection' has undoubtedly followed a path that aligns with the views of scholars and religious authorities and the current laws of the country, and the decision made by the Ministry of Culture now relates to the interests of that ministry, which is certainly accountable.' Mr. Darvish concluded the interview by stating: 'The film has been made in accordance with the views of the religious authorities from the research, production license, and global communications stages, and even during the editing phase for public screening, representatives from some esteemed religious authorities were present.' In recent days, some Shia religious authorities, such as Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani and Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani, have issued statements calling for the prevention of the screening of the film 'Resurrection'. After the film's screening at the 2013 festival and criticisms from some religious groups, the film was cut by about 50 minutes for public screening, bringing its runtime to 130 minutes. For example, while the image of Abbas ibn Ali remains, the images depicting 'Ali Akbar', the eldest son of the third Imam, and 'Qasim', the son of the second Imam, have been removed. It is said that the main license for displaying the images of certain figures in the film 'Resurrection' was obtained from Ayatollah Sistani, the most followed Shia authority residing in Iraq. In a response to a question regarding whether it is permissible to depict or stage scenes from the life of Prophet Muhammad or other past prophets or infallibles, Ayatollah Sistani stated: 'If the principle of their sanctity and respect is maintained and does not tarnish their sacred character in the minds of people, there is no objection.' On the other hand, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, also responded to the same question, stating that 'if it does not entail insult or false attribution to those figures, it is not inherently problematic.' Despite all this, the film 'Resurrection' has opponents who gathered twice in front of the Ministry of Culture last week in opposition to the film's screening, and ultimately their attack on one of the cinemas on the first day of screening led to the halt of this work's display.