Mamta Kalia

(MICG) was assigned the task of
enforcement. Henceforth, no films or
videos could be screened without a
permit. The government also imposed
a ban on all films and videos which:
Weaken the principle of monotheism and
other Islamic principles; insult directly or
indirectly, the Prophets, Imams, the
guardianship of Supreme Jurisprudent…
blaspheme against the values and personalities
held sacred by Islam and other religions
mentioned in the Constitution; encourage
wickedness, corruption and prostitution;
encourage or teach dangerous addictions
and earning a living from unsavoury means
such as smuggling; negate the equality of
people regardless of colour, race, language,
ethnicity and belief; encourage foreign cultural,
economic and political influence contrary to
the ‘neither West nor East’ policy of the
government…show details of scenes of
violence and torture, misrepresent
geographical and historical facts… 11
The most important of these dealt
with the way Iranian women were to
be projected on the screen. For example,
it would be mandatory for women to
wear the hijab in all conditions; there
could be no physical contact between
men and women (not even between
mother and son); all women were to
be filmed in long shot, plots that had
central women characters were to be
avoided. 12
But there was also a flip side to the
regime of restrictions and controls.
Khatami who took over as the Minister
of Culture and Islamic guidance, was
among the few to realize that bringing
art under complete purview of the
132 :: April-June 2010
government would be inimical to the
long term interests of the Islamic state.
He therefore created the Farabi Cinema
Foundation (FCF), with Mohammed
Beheshti at its helm in 1983, to provide
general direction to the film industry
and regulate the import and export of
films. Later, the FCF also began coproduction
of films. Another organization
created during the period of the
revolution was the Foundation of the
Oppressed (Bonyad-e Mostaza’fan)
created by Khomeini in 1979. Producing
seven films a year in the 1980s, the
Foundation of the Oppressed became
associated with some of the top directors
of the Iranian film industry such as
Daryush Farhang, Rakshan Bani-Etemad
and Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Makhmalbaf’s
Cyclist (1989) and The Wedding of the
Blessed (1989), were produced by the
Foundation. Another institution was
the Arts Centre (Howzeh-ye Honari)
of the Islamic Propaganda Organization
that produced war and propaganda films.
Makhmalbaf’s early films including
Justification (1981), Nasuh’s Repentance
(1982), Two Sightless Eyes (1983) and
Boycott (1985), were all produced by
the Centre. With the increasing popularity
of Iranian films among European and
North American audiences, several films
have been co-produced by companies
owned by foreigners or by the Iranian
diaspora.
Khatami also encouraged the growth
of New Wave films by exempting many
filmmakers from the onerous procedure