In Iran, artists in the sights of the regime

The film industry in Iran has been the subject of unprecedented repression since the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, who died on September 16, during police custody for her veil “badly worn”. Two demonstrators, Mohsen Shekari and Majid Reza Rahnavard, were executed in early December and around 30 others risk the same fate, including theater actor Hossein Mohammadi. Aged 26, he was arrested in November and sentenced to death for allegedly participating in the assassination of a soldier during a demonstration in Karaj, 30 kilometers from Tehran.

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On December 17, Taraneh Alidoosti, leading actress of the Iranian seventh art (Leila and her brothers, About Elly, The fire festival), was arrested at her home in Tehran. The next day, the 30-year-old called her father to tell him that she was in the notorious Evin prison, located in northern Tehran. On November 9, on her Instagram page, the actress posted a photo of herself without a veil, brandishing the protest slogan, “Woman, life, freedom”in Kurdish – Mahsa Amini came from a Kurdish town and the slogan was first shouted at her funeral.

Theater actor Hossein Mohammadi, stage photos.

In recent weeks, many professionals in the world of cinema have expressed their solidarity with the uprising in Iran, criticizing the crackdown which has already killed 503 people, according to human rights organizations. Directors, actresses, screenwriters and costume designers have, like Taraneh Alidoosti, published photos of themselves without headscarves. Some like Soheila Golestani and Hengameh Ghazian were arrested, but released a few days later on bail, pending trial. Men are also under pressure. “The slightest post on social networks costs its author a ban on leaving the countryexplains an Iranian active in the world of cinema. All those who express the slightest sympathy towards the demonstrators are systematically summoned, interrogated, released on heavy bail. I would say that today at least 80% of film people in Iran are banned from leaving the country. »

“Standing with those who are fighting”

Director Ali Ahmadzade had left Iran for Turkey a week before Mahsa Amini’s death, thinking he would never return to his native country. From Turkey, the director of Kami’s Party (2013) and Atom Heart Mother (2015), released at the Berlin Film Festival, has multiplied publications on its Instagram page in solidarity with the protesters. He also posted a scene from his latest feature film, made in Iran, not yet finished, Critical Zone, where we see a woman without a veil screaming. A first for an Iranian film shot in the country.

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