Regime bans export of film on Iranians' culture.

Iranian cultural officials are preventing any international screening of Maziar Miri's 2007 comedy "The Book of Law" out of fear the Western media will interpret the film as a real portrayal of Iranian life.

The film comically portrays the inconsistencies between Islamic law and the ethics of many Iranians. It was written by Moham-mad Rahmanian.

Although the film is currently being screened in Iranian theaters, Iranian officials within the Culture Ministry argue that a foreign screening might lead to misrepresentations and misunderstandings about Iranian Muslims and their beliefs.

"The Book of Law" revolves around Rahman, an Iranian man working for an Islamic studies center in Tehran, who goes on a mission to Lebanon where he meets a Christian woman named Juliet Khamsa. After converting to Islam, Khamsa--who has changed her name to Ameneh--marries Rahman and the two return to Tehran where they move in with Rahman's family.

Once in Iran, Ameneh begins to see many contradictions between what Rahman's traditional family and other Iranians do and say in their daily lives and what is taught in the Qoran. After realizing these contradictions, Ameneh decides to leave Tehran and return to her native Lebanon where she takes a job teaching refugees in a Lebanese school.

To obtain a license to be shown in Iran, a film must first be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. A film's producer must apply for another permit if he wishes to show the film abroad. The Cultural Heritage News Agency, the news bureau of the Culture Ministry, reported Monday that the ministry has refused to allow the film to be exported.

"This film presents a negative image of Iranians for foreign filmgoers while the reality is quite different from what the film shows," Minister of Culture Mohammad Hossaini told the state news agency earlier this month. He said, "The film has few positive aspects and, according to critics, it places a blemish on Iranian society."

"For this reason, screenings of films like 'The Book of Law' are limited to domestic audiences," Hossaini said.

At a press conference last week, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari said, "From my viewpoint, it would be inappropriate for the film to be shown to a non-Iranian audience, because it presents a false image of Iranian culture and society."

But not everyone agreed. Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the chairman of the Culture Committee of the Majlis, said it is impractical to prevent a film from being screened internationally "due to the encroachment of cultural boundaries."

"A film that can be screened in Iran, can be shown anywhere in the world," Haddad-Adel said.

Although "The Book of Law" has not been granted an export permit, it was screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in March 2009 and was nominated for Best Asian-Middle Eastern Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2009.

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Title Annotation:	Culture: From then and now
Publication:	Iran Times International (Washington, DC)
Date:	Dec 18, 2009
Words:	478
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