ICO senior advisor to arbitrate in “Laleh” project dispute

TEHRAN,July 26(MNA) -- The senior advisor of the Iran Cinema Organization (ICO), Alireza Rezadad, has been selected by the organization to arbitrate in disputes over financial issues and ownership of “Laleh”, the controversial film project about the first Iranian female race car driver, Laleh Seddiq. Rezadad was appointed by ICO Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi. The disputes have arisen between director Esmaeil Niknejad and producer Parvaneh Partov, and the Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC) after management changes in Iranian cinema under President Hassan Rouhani’s administration. The project, which was being supported by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and its affiliated organizations, began in March 2013, just a few months before Ahmadinejad left office, under the auspices and ownership of the DEFC. After the victory of Rouhani in the presidential election, Mohammad-Mehdi Tabatabainejad was appointed director of the DEFC. Afterward, Tabatabainejad said that the former DEFC director contravened the legal duties of the center about the project. Based on the DEFC charter, the center is allowed only to support experimental productions or debut films. “Laleh” is classified in neither of these categories. Consequently, the project was brought to a halt after over 60 billion rials (about $2 million) had been spent on it.