Iran won’t give certain films permission for foreign premieres: official

TEHRAN, Apr. 7 (MNA) -- The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance will not grant a screening license to certain Iranian films for a foreign premier.

A screenplay must be approved by the Culture Ministry to obtain a production license in Iran. In addition, the film’s producer must apply for a screening license from the ministry for a domestic or foreign premiere.

“Specific Iranian productions might not receive permission for a foreign premiere, and no other country or foreign official, either cinematic or non-cinematic, will be permitted to interfere in this matter,” Culture Ministry’s Supervision and Evaluation Office (SEO) Director Alireza Sajjadpur told the Persian service of Mehr News Agency.

For example, the Iranian production “Book of Law” (Maziar Miri) was restricted to a domestic premiere and no green light was granted for its foreign premiere, he added.

“I prefer not to mention specific names of movies, but we will soon inform the filmmakers. One of them was recently warned against any attempt to screen his movie at foreign festivals,” he mentioned.

Sajjadpur also stressed, “Any event happening in the country is related to the people of this country and outsiders have no right to interfere. And if cinematic event organizers try to meddle in this case, we would be forced to boycott their programs.

“We also expect Iranian filmmakers to support our national interest against all external and internal interferences,” he concluded.