A letter to Aki Kaurismaki the Finish film producer
Mr Aki Kaurismaki

First of all let me express my gratitude for your humane attitude Indeed your sensitivity to human rights made me write this letter. I wish that film producers
of the Islamic Republic of Iran such as Abbas Kiarostami also had a bit of your
humanity, at least regarding solidarity within their trade. Let me
start with your film “The Man without a past”, which won the Cannes 2002 prize. I
can imagine that what happened was in that the producer or the presenter had sent
the information and necessary materials to the Cannes before the deadline. The
festival committee chose your film out of about 2000 film that they receive each
year, and the jury emphasised the value of your work. Of course, your name, the
details of your film and your biography were sent to the festival office within
the time table and were written in the catalogue. However, you do not know that
Kiarostami film called The Sent of Cherry was taken from the airport 24 hours before
the opening of Cannes festival by the chief broker in Paris, who is a dealer between
the Cannes festival and the Islamic Republic. The committee didn't even
see the film as a formality and the name of the film was not in the festival catalogue
. Ignoring the festival convention, they produced subtitles for the film overnight
and put it in the competition. The Palme was shared with Shoohi Imamura
, the Japanese film producer, and not a word was said.
In your protest to the Bush government you said: Finland doesn't even
have oil; this is a valid remark and if we see oil as a symbol of wealth, our country
is very rich. However, only a popular government can use the resources to provide
conditions in which all people live in peace and have a good life. Unfortunately
, Iran is in the hands of a sect of mullahs who are murderers and thieves. They
only know how to loot and take away people's resources, put them in prison
and torture them, assassinate the intellectuals, stone and rape the women in prison
; the list is endless. People have gained nothing from this regime.
You said that, to show your solidarity with Kiarostami, you will not attend the New York
festival. American policy towards the Islamic Republic has varied during the past
years. In the first round of Khatami's presidency America approved of
him and the USA was a meeting place for Islamic Republic film producers. Almost
every day USA Universities held meetings in the name of Iranian new cinema . Before
European countries did so, the USA welcomed a group of women in cinema (such as
Fereshteh Taer Pour, Tahmineh Millani, Malek Jahan Khazaii, Niki Karimi, etc.)
with their chadors (veils) in order to make propaganda for the reformist
regime. At the same time, during the Islamic Republic and because of
its tendencies towards terrorism, it is very difficult for ordinary people to go
to USA. People have to wait a long time for a visa and sometimes they are not allowed
to travel to the USA. However, all the film makers in Islamic Republic cinema,
among them Abbas Kiarostami, would receive their visa to the USA within few hours
. These men and women are in America most of their time and many prizes are given
to the films that are sent by Islamic Republic. (However, the Islamic Republic
has on one hand secret dealing with America, and on the other hand encourages groups
of hezbullah to chant slogans against the America to).
In America second rate critics such as Godfery Cheshayer or Ms Alisa Simon (the host of Chicago festival) are wheelers and dealers. Most of the representatives of Iranian cinema
such as Bahman Farman Ara (he is in Iran now), Jamshid Akrami, Bahman maghsoudlou
etc., who are attending the Fajr festival in Tehran are living in America. Neither
at the time that the American Embassy would give visa to the greenhouse films,
nor now that they are not welcomed, did America's attitude have anything
to do with the individual film makers, but it was all to praise the Islamic Republic
. The regime would do everything to please the Western government and saferegard
itself. Now in Iran prisons are overcrowded and more than 50 newspaper which belonged
to one of the regime's wings and argued for ways of continuing the regime
in a way that was not approved by the regime are banned and their owners are arrested
and tortured.
Perhaps you are aware of the ironic idea of a so-called dialogue between civilizations
being generated by the European Union on behalf of the most murderous regime on
earth.
However, in the second round of Khatami's presidency America found that it cannot
expect miracles! America realised that the continuation of the 'Down to
America' slogan may act against its economic interest. Therefore, instead
of supporting a wing of the regime, is now opposing the regime as a whole. In this
new era it is inevitable that Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf, Rakhshan Bani Etemad, Tahmine
Millani, etc., do not have the previous facilities. I guarantee that if Bush and
Khatami reach agreement again then Islamic Republic artist would be welcome again
, and Kiarostami and the others would be accepted again.
It would be much better that you, as a good producer who found fame through your ability
, without economic interests, political conspiracy of the smell of the oil being
behind your success, be the voice of the voiceless people in international gatherings
. Western governments and America must be condemned for the difficulties that they
create for Iranians and other nationalities who would like to travel to these countries
. Western governments should also be condemned for their conspiracy with dictatorships
, for making the lives of asylum seekers very difficult, and the threat of deportation
that asylum seekers are facing now. We all know that the West had its share in
promoting terrorism; they supported terrorism and regimes which are supporting terrorism
. The West ignores the assassination of more than one hundred people in Western
countries by the Islamic regime via its embassies. The Western governments back
such regimes as the Islamic Republic and act against people who fled Iran due to
persecution and threat to their lives. Islamic Republic film producers who are
trying to preserve a good image of the Islamic Republic to Europe, among them Abbas
Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, will have to answer to people in the future for
their collaboration with the regime; as Leni Rifnshtal and Pubest were taken to
the Nuremberg court after the collapse of the Nazis. As you are firmly against
the New York festival we expect you to stand beside us to struggle for the freedom
of people in Iran. I am sure that you do not know about the facts that I am writing
in this letter. I am trying to drew a brief picture of Iranian cinema at the moment
. If you would like more information I can provide and send it to you via the Finish
Embassy in Berlin.

The Islamic Republic is against any art; specially cinema. Because of that, in the first
years, of their power, they burned down many cinemas. Under Khomeini orders they
burned films belongings to 30 years of cinema history. As time passed they realised
that cinema can be a good tool for making propaganda. Therefore they started to
divide the cinema into two sections: overall propagandist films were purely for
internal consumption; films in which the propaganda was less explisit were used
as a cosmetic exercise in the mullahs with a human face.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, like Ms Leni Refnahtal, used to make propagandist films. Later on he
stopped to making such films and tried to put a different mask on his face, and
, like Abbas Kiarostami, moved towards festivals. However, Abbas Kiarostami was
a film producer in Shah's time (the quality of his work was much better
than now) and because of his past he tried to become accepted by the mullahs by
emphasising the correctness of the backward policies of the regime. He recognized
censorship as an important element to promote creativity. The compulsory veil was
not his concern. Jan Pier Born in Liberation magazine write about his
opportunist personality: Kiarostami has no problem with the current situation
of the Iranian regime; in a way he even finds comfort in the Islamic Republic.
His attitude is contrary to those film producers which are unhappy about the censorship
in Iran; he does not have any solidarity with his colleagues. To the question about
Saeidi Sirjani (the writer and researcher who was tortured in prison and was killed
by injection) Kiarostami says: I don't like writers who are not realist
! Kiarostami films help the regime to show a different picture of themselves outside
Iran (Liberation magazine, 5.11.94).

Kiarostami's behaviour became a model for those who wanted to make film to find a
way to festivals and at the same time have regime approval. The budget which should
be spent on the cinema industry which is in its worst condition, was handed to
a bunch of film producers who would work in line with the regime. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
, his daughter Samira and his wife Fatemeh Meshkini, Daryoush Mehrjoi, Rakhshan
Bani Eatemad, Tahmineh Milani, etc., are among them. Islamic Republic films have
won more than 400 awards, but of 65 million people in Iran 30 million have no access
to the cinema. The average rate of going to the cinema is once a year for each
person. All the cinemas in Iran total not more than 200 outdated halls which are
left from the previous regime. Now and then some of them have to put an end to
their existence. Films which are shown in the festivals are not screened in Iranian
cinemas. People in Iran do not know much about 'showcase
and these film producers are not keen to show their films in Iran. According
to the film producers captive in Iran these festivals are controlled by organisers
who are favoured by the regime.
They deny the fact that many Iranian film producers do not comply with the regime and its
censorship office. You are angry because Kiarostami is not allowed to attend the
New York festival and withdraw your film from the festival. Would Kiarostami who
won different awards due to reasons that I mentioned above, talk about those film
producers who would not comply with the regime? On the contrary, when he won the
Cannes Palme , and it was to cover up the regime's assassination
of Iranians outside Iran, especially the murdering of opposition leaders in Mykonos
cafe in Berlin, he was very happy and congratulated the regime.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf was a member of a group called Bilal Habashi which hunted opposition
in Iran. He is responsible for arresting hundreds of people, specially leftists
who were executed. Mr Kaurismaki, I know these showcase film makers would not talk
about these things and you cannot find any information about their past in the
festival catalogues. (For example, have you read in any of the festivals catalogues
about a Makhmalbaf film called Bykot which was against leftists? Prisoners of the
Adel Abad prison in Shiraz were forced to attend the film as penitents to escape
torture.) In some of the festivals you may see Iranian film reporters but they
would not tell you the truth, because most of them are working for the Farsi section
of radios and cannot act because of the radio policy, or they are working in some
of the broadcast agencies which are in cooperation with the regime. At the moment
the West is helping the Islamic Republic to stay in power. Therefore their attitude
in their film reports also follow that line. Now America is withdrawing the red
carpet which used to be put out for Kiarostami. They even did not listen to the
French politicians. After Kiarostami, Bahman Ghobadi a new Islamic Republic film
producer also could not have an entry visa to America.
It is different in Europe. If the Islamic Republic do not pay their share, they would
change their attitude and would no longer act as the lovers of humanistic and poetic
cinema of the brutal regime. Then the same French politicians who are trying to
get a visa for Kiarostami would not let him in. Then Mr Pier Rsian the French film
dealer who tried to make the Scent of Cherry acceptable in
Cannes 97, would find Kiarostami's film boring. Mr Jil Jakob the Cannes
chief that made the unjust decision about the Cannes Palme Or, like
America would not accept film makers such as Kiarostami. Consequently reporters
of Farsi radios would also change their policy towards the new line.
Mr Kaurismaki, what I have written is the tip of the iceberg of problems of festivals that Iranian cinema is facing today. I hope I could make clear some of the truth that you were
not aware of . I know that you are a modern thinker and can be influential due
to the success of your film The Man without a Past. Iranian cinema has 4000 members
, whose rights are denied by the regime, and also film producers in exile who don't have a voice, I wish you could be their voice in the international meetings. Even in your film you always have your glass in your hand. Do you know such behaviour which is a fundamental human right, brings torture and imprisonment in Iran? This is the situation that these film producers are defending! I know you have a tendency towards left views. Do you know that the Islamic regime and its film industry (most of whom are responsible for the cruelty of the past 23 years), are receiving international recognition in European festivals. Do you know that in 1981 and 1988 thousands of people who had your ideas, were executed?


I’m sorry if I made you upset. Now we will raise our glasses to you, cheers.

With most
regards

The centre
of Basir Nasibi (Iranian film maker in exile)

Copy to
: The offices of Cannes festival, Berlin, Vienna, Venice, Gothenburg.