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Director
Ghobadi keeps up criticism of Iranian censorship as his 'Half
Moon' wins praise |
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Director Ghobadi keeps up criticism of
Iranian censorship as his 'Half Moon' wins praise 1.10.2006
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SAN SEBASTIAN:
Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi, whose film "Half
Moon" has been highly praised at the ongoing San
Sebastian International Film Festival, said it is
increasingly difficult to work in Iran, where his
latest movie has been banned because a woman sings
in it.
"Imagine my frame of mind when, having placed all my
hopes in this film, after having done everything so
that Iranians could see it, the government then
decides it cannot be screened. What energy have I
got left to continue making films?" he asked on the
sidelines of the festival.
Ghobadi learned his film had been banned in Iran
earlier this month, just as it premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival.
"Half Moon" tells the story of a group of Iranian
Kurd musicians en route to a concert in Iraq but
touches on a taboo subject: women singing.
"In my country it is forbidden to listen to a
woman's voice," explained Ghobadi. And in the film
the musicians are accompanied by a female singer,
Hesho, whose voice is heard several times during the
film.
"I censored myself so that this film could be
screened in Iran, but I did not get permission in
the end, notably because this woman sings alone."
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Kurdish Director Bahman Ghubadi
Photo : Internet |
The film is also a metaphor for the difficulties
encountered by Iranian filmmakers.
"I wanted to reflect a small part of what artists
suffer in Iran, where it is more and more difficult
to make films."
The problems along the road faced by Mamo, the
oldest musician and leader of the group, in the film
"are the same as those that artists in my country
face daily."
Ghobadi won San Sebastian's top prize two years ago,
the Concha de Oro, for his film "Turtles Can Fly."
For his latest, he says: "We tried to get equipment,
but the Iranian government did not want to help us,"
he explained.
Not even to get the pistol which appears in a scene.
"A policeman finally lent us his," Ghobadi said.
"You cannot imagine the difficulties encountered by
a director in Iran," added Kambiz Arshi, an actor in
"Half Moon."
The highly applauded film was made in 40 days in the
magnificent landscapes between Iraq and Iran "in
very complex conditions," the director said.
"I hope that I can continue to make films despite
the hurdles put in our way so that we can do what we
really love," he said, adding that he had six
projects under way, including a film between New
York and Tehran.
"Half Moon," a moving and humorous full-length film,
is a co-production between Iran, Iraq, Austria and
France and will represent Iraq for the Oscars in
February 2007 in Los Angeles.
AFP
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