Iranian Independent Filmmaker Assn. Decries Iran’s Int’l Picture Oscar Entry; Calls On Film Academy To Consider Alternative Non-Regime Submission

deadline.com:

Dissident Iranian film professionals are calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts (AMPAS) to consider an alternative film to represent Iran in the Best International Feature Film category from that submitted as the country’s official entry.

Iran’s government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF) announced on Tuesday that it had selected Reza Mirkarimi’s The Night Guardian as the country’s submission to the 96th Academy Awards.

The announcement comes just days after the first anniversary of the beginning of the Woman Life Freedom protests, provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, after her police detention for not wearing her veil correctly.

More than 500 protestors have been killed by Iranian security forces over the past year and thousands have been injured. A number of directors including Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and most recently Saeed Roustayi have wound up in jail in a related crackdown on the country’s creative community. “As the world is witnessing the oppression of the Iranian people by the Islamic Republic government and is aware of the terrifying pressure on Iranian artists, once again, the Iranian cinema’s representative at the Oscars has been announced by the state-controlled entity, Farabi,” the Iranian Independent Filmmaker Association (IIFMA) said in a statement. “Over the past year, Iranian filmmakers have been imprisoned, interrogated, and intimidated, with Farabi being a key player in implementing this severe repression,” it continued.  “The Iranian Independent Film Association (IIFMA) poses a simple question to the Academy: How can an institution known for its censorship and repression represent Iranian cinema.” It noted that Farabi officials had