Iran Blocks Director From Festival
Associated Press
VENICE, Italy - Iranian officials have blocked a director from appearing at the Venice Film Festival to promote his movie about a Muslim boy who falls in love with a Jewish girl, the producer said Monday.
Abolfazl Jalili was to appear Monday with his film "Abjad," or "The First Letter." But producer Emmanuel Benbihy said the director has been unable to get permission for the trip.
"He doesn't have the official authorization to leave," Benbihy told The Associated Press. "If he doesn't obey, he is in serious trouble. It's not his way to avoid a problem."
Benbihy said the director was not in custody but added that he hadn't heard from him on Monday and was worried.
The film is about a 16-year-old Iranian boy from a religious family who falls in love with the daughter of a Jewish cinema manager. The story starts before the Islamic Revolution and follows its effect on the main characters.
"We all think we made a film about love," the producer said during a news conference. "It goes beyond religion to talk about love."
Also, Iran confiscated the prints of another film in competition here, "Silence Between Two Thoughts," by director Babak Payami. The film was being shown here on digital video.
"The negatives of my film have been confiscated by the authorities in Iran," the director said in an earlier statement. "It has taken a lot of effort and anxiety to prepare a special version of my film to be shown."
The film tells the story of a woman who is sentenced to death but cannot be executed because she is a virgin. A local spiritual leader resolves the situation by marrying the woman to the man who will execute her.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/6668898.htmIran loses ally in Iraq's Hakim, hard to replace
By Edmund Blair
TEHRAN, Sept. 1 — Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim may not have espoused an Iranian-style revolution in Iraq, but Iran lost a sympathetic ear that will be difficult to replace when the Iraqi Shi'ite leader was killed last week.
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters09-01-062708.asp?reg=MIDEAST