Iran’s film industry feels under attack and left behind

With no end in sight to the ongoing war Iran — Both Iran and the United States seized ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz this week. Iranian filmmakers say they both feel “under attack” and “abandoned” by Iran in the wake of US and Israeli bombing raids that have caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure. international community.

Nearly two months after Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, there is little evidence that the conflict has weakened hardliners in the Islamic Republic. Instead, power appears to have been consolidated around a more hard-line leadership linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with figures such as former Guards general Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf playing a central role in negotiations with the United States.

Shaking and uncertain Two weeks after the fires, the streets of Tehran have returned to normal. “Compared to the beginning of the war, there are crowds and disturbances (again),” said Mansour Jahani, an Iranian film journalist. The Hollywood Reporter. “People are busy with their daily work, but through meetings and conversations they tell each other about the latest events and developments in this destructive and illegal war.”

The chaos in the film world was immediate. When the war began, movie theaters across the country were closed for 18 days. Although many venues have since reopened and screened a limited number of films, the Nowruz New Year period, a 13-day holiday starting March 20 and usually the most important season for the local box office, has been severely affected. Jahani says there was a “severe downturn in box office performance.”

The airstrikes also directly hit Iran’s industrial infrastructure. The headquarters of Iran’s largest independent film industry guild, the Iranian House of Cinema, was attacked and partially destroyed. Tehran’s historic Shokoufeh Cinema remains closed after being attacked twice. ace Jahani first reported.Home of the late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostamithe taste of cherries, certified copy) also suffered damage in the airstrikes, along with training centres, documentary facilities and film offices across the country.

Beyond the film, Jahani points out the widespread harm the ongoing war is having on Iran’s population. “The homes of several actors and filmmakers, as well as 90,063 residential properties of ordinary Iranians and civilians, were also targeted and damaged,” he claimed.

Iranian director won two Oscars earlier this month Asgar Farhadi (separation, salesman)’s new features are parallel storyIt will premiere in competition at Cannes, urging global filmmakers to: take an opposing position In response to the destruction of Iran’s civilian infrastructure, he called on “this important day and hour for artists and filmmakers around the world to speak out in every way possible to stop the devastating onslaught of US-Israeli bombing.” “This is not only the destruction of a building, but an attack on human life and dignity,” he said. iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (patterson, About Ellie) also filed a similar appeal.

Early in the war, some in the Iranian film diaspora abroad expressed support for US/Israeli military action in the hope that the war might lead to regime change. The Iranian Independent Film Producers Association (IIFMA), founded in 2022 by the Women, Life and Freedom Movement, which claims to represent Iran’s dissident filmmaking community, issued a statement Supports “targeted action against government officials and agents of repression.” The filmmakers’ group also called for protection of civilians in Iran.

But as the war continues, domestic repression has “intensified,” said Mahshid Zamani, IIFMA director. She argues that the conflict strengthened the very forces it was expected to weaken. “The government no longer answers to anyone. As the war continues, it works to their advantage.”

The association says Iranian authorities are repressing its members. They claim to have seized the assets of at least 11 filmmakers and actors, including Shirin Neshat, Niki Karimi and Hamid Farrokhnezhad. Dozens more are said to be detained or missing.

Zamani said he felt betrayed by Washington’s efforts to end the conflict without regime change in Tehran. “Everyone feels we have been abandoned,” she says.

Inside Iran, there are no signs that the conflict is driving internal political change, Jahani said. “Despite their dissatisfaction (with the regime), the Iranian people did not welcome foreign intervention as an opportunity to overthrow their government,” he says. “War has always united the Iranian people.”