Overview of Developments in Iranian Cinema in 2014

The developments in Iranian cinema in 2014 were largely influenced by events from the previous year. Incidents that occurred during the 32nd Fajr Film Festival cast a shadow over all aspects of Iranian cinema. The cinema managers of Hassan Rouhani's government in 2014, after experiencing a difficult confrontation with critics of their performance at the previous Fajr Film Festival, sought to restore calm to the cinema. They adopted a policy of avoiding tension in both the production of new films and their screenings, distancing filmmakers from sensitive topics to create a safe margin for themselves and the cinema against critics' attacks. As a result, sensitive films from the 32nd Fajr Film Festival, such as "I'm Not Angry" and "Tales," were not screened, and efforts to show the film "House of Father" only led to a two-day screening in one cinema due to opposition resistance. In 2014, Iranian cinema witnessed continued opposition from some entities outside the government against the cinema managers' programs, primarily led by the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. This commission published a list of eight films it believed should not be screened, effectively placing cinema managers in a defensive position. Ahmad Talebi-Nejad, a well-known critic and writer residing in Tehran, evaluated the performance of cinema managers in 2014, emphasizing the need to consider the overall conditions of the country and the interference of other institutions in cinematic affairs: "Generally, everyone claims to have a say; I might also claim that cinema management has become cautious. Unfortunately, the overall conditions of the country are such that I believe any manager, even the most democratic, must behave cautiously. This is because unfortunately, forces outside the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance interfere significantly in cultural and artistic matters." Mr. Talebi-Nejad, stating that he does not want to side with cinema managers, continued: "The reality is that managing in such conditions, where you feel that you have no control over many things, is very difficult. For example, a power goes and cancels a concert, while it has no relation to cultural and artistic matters. The same applies to cinema. There are claimants from some members of parliament to representatives of other powers and other religious, cultural, and artistic institutions that create obstacles. Now, it can be said that from the perspective of preserving the integrity of Iranian cinema, we might agree with the managers that they should be somewhat cautious. However, if this situation continues, it is naturally very bad, and something needs to be done." Hojjatollah Ayubi, the head of the Cinema Organization, although he tried in 2014 to reduce the volume of sensitivities surrounding cinema through managing the production and screening of films, simultaneously showed various signs of mutual cooperation with filmmakers and critics. After the suspension of the screening of the film "House of Father," he apologized to filmmakers and, during the verbal dispute between Abbas Kiarostami and Ebrahim Hatamikia, he tried to take no side. Nevertheless, during the screening of the film "Taxi" at the Berlin Film Festival, he accused the festival managers of politicization in an open letter. This policy, which was accompanied by increased support for filmmakers in the last days of the year, was described by Azadeh Karimi, a cinema journalist, as a diplomatic approach stemming from Hojjatollah Ayubi's background: "Mr. Ayubi, at least in this recent one-year period, has been implementing a very diplomatic policy, which they were previously effective in, in cinema as well. This means that they maintain a side from both critics and filmmakers. I think the fact that this simple apology from filmmakers occurs is a good event. The year 2014 also witnessed significant events in cinema screenings. With the addition of several cinema complexes to the screening cycle, the capacity for film displays increased, and simultaneously, with the screening of the film "City of Mice 2," the box office record for films in Iranian cinema was broken. The film "City of Mice 2" managed to sell nearly 11 billion and 900 million tomans across Iran. In addition to the film "City of Mice," the films "Sensitive Class" and "Fireworks 2" were among the highest-grossing films of the year, and Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture, referred to the total cinema sales of 52 billion tomans as a success for the cultural management of the country. Alireza Davood-Nejad, a well-known writer and director, considers the digitization of film distribution as a significant factor in the increased reception of films in 2014: "What has happened in the last couple of years, and it is a positive event, is that cinema has entered this cycle of technological updating. Distribution and screening have also entered this digital cycle. Now, instead of one copy, a hard disk allows for a specified number of screenings in the hall, and thus it is completely evaluable how many screenings each film has. This event has made distribution much easier, allowed simultaneous screenings in many halls, and overall increased audience attraction, and through these hard disks that allow for a specified number of screenings, increased oversight has also become possible. Therefore, I believe part of this increase in cinema revenue is due to the entry of the distribution and screening cycle into this digital technology." In 2014, while about 12.5 million people went to cinemas in Iran, more than 70 films were screened. Of these, 14 films were screened in a new group called Art and Experience, which was formed in the same year. The aim of forming this group was to showcase different and unconventional films, which, with government support for the screening halls of these films, aims to provide a sustainable opportunity for their screening. Although various opinions have been expressed about the formation of this group and the level of reception of the films, some observers of cinematic developments, including Ahmad Talebi-Nejad, believe that the formation of this group was one of the positive events of the past year: "For many years, we had a number of films that were not screened not due to censorship but because no cinema owner was willing to screen them, and they had accumulated. Most of them were very good films. Attempts had been made, for example, a few years ago, to create the Open Sky group or similar groups. But after one or two films that did not have good sales, their activities were stopped. I believe one of the most important cinematic events last year was the formation of this Art and Experience cinematic group, which, despite its shortcomings, is indeed a very fortunate event, and fortunately, it has received good reception. Of course, not to the extent of public screenings. But in any case, those who are looking for different or unconventional films now know that there are places in Tehran and a few other cities where they can see different films. I think those who initiated this are very serious in their decision, and if obstacles are not created, they will progress very well. Regarding international presence, Iranian cinema in 2014 managed to achieve its most important award in recent years after the Oscar for the film "A Separation". Jafar Panahi, a filmmaker who is still banned from making films and leaving Iran and conducting interviews due to a court ruling, won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival with his film "Taxi." The making of this film and the awarding of the main prize of this prestigious festival to it sparked widespread opinions about the political or non-political nature of this award. In 2014, the film "Tales" by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, which has not yet had the opportunity for public screening in Iran, also won another important award for Iranian cinema. This film won the Best Screenplay award from the jury of the 71st Venice Film Festival. In 2014, Iranian critics showed more interest in the films of young filmmakers than before. Among them, the films "Fish and Cat" by unconventional filmmaker Shahram Mokri and "Parviz" by Majid Barzegar were introduced as the selected films of the year in various opinion polls.