Iran cancels screening of Israeli film

[oberliner]

BERLIN – The organizers of the Tehran International Film Festival announced on Thursday that the award-winning Israeli film 'More than 1,000 words' would not be included in the festival's program.

The movie follows Israeli photographer Ziv Koren over a two-year period, as he documents different aspects of the Middle East conflict.

The film's director, Solo Avital, was officially invited to take part in the festival and the movie was to be screened as part of an event dedicated to the second Lebanon war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The invitation made waves across the world, which possibly led to heavy political pressures on the festival organizers to cancel the movie's participation.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3360094,00.html

[MrPrax]

1. Good...

Too bad more countries aren't boycotting Israel's products...

[oberliner]

2. A documentary about Ziv Koren should be boycotted?

People should boycott this film because it was made by an Israeli?

[pelsar]

3. how about films by...

israeli arabs...can they be seen?

[Tom Joad]

5. I don't think this is good at all. It would have been much better if it were

shown.

I do support sanctions against Israel as nonviolent response to the continued disregard for international law, but this sharing of this film should not be part of that.

I'll probably see it at the Jewish film festival when it comes to the bay area.

[MrPrax]

7. You usually have a good head...

on your shoulders. But this is just plainly ridiculous...

1) Israel's elected politicians have publicly declared their intention to attack (with nukes) the country of Iran. Please -- under the rules of the game, Iran's action are perfectly understandable --

2) Simply because we have been brainwashed into believe that 'media products' will change our lives, convey 'the important stories ever told', provide 'no-spin' zones, and generally tell us what to think then I really don't know what to make of someone 'programmed' by that type of society that who 'believes' that a 'film' is an important act of culture sharing.

Yes we do understand that the US has a huge media industry and that is the selling job people in the US usually do; suggest that their media products convey something other than 'entertainment' and 'commerce'. It's part of salesmenship; not a general statement of what...epistemology, cultural exchange? Where's the exchange part? They are in fact transmitters of US culture and perspectives and that OTHER countries have every right to exclude.

Seriously -- one of the most restricted 'movie' places for foreign film/music/etc is the United States itself. So if you, as an American, are really TRYING to sell this idea about how 'flicks' convey important 'truths' and should be 'shared' -- my response is, "Great...go for it...and when the US has a 'open door' policy regarding this subject I will take your remarks seriously on this subject and NOT just think this is more 'propaganda' designed entirely to dehumanize a people as a prelude to murder.

3)It's the official policy of BOTH Israel and the US to 'boycott' any government to the point of armed blockade and invasion. Neither Israel or the US will talk to the political leaders of Iran, but you think Iran is out of line for...what now? 'Restricting' access to a fucking 'movie'?

4) If the last line was suppose to be some unfailingly statement of the superior openmindedness of Frisco liberalism -- well you know better than me that if there is a place in the US that loves a boycott, it's Frisco!

We really have to stop lying to ourselves, dude. The intent of the OP was to demonstrate to racists here that Iran is intolerant. When in fact Iran has had it's door open to negotiations for years...just like Cuba.

The boycotters are Israel and US...jeez

[oberliner]

12. Iran has had it's door open to negotiations for years?

Khatami to Haaretz: No chance of talks between Iran, Israel

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=818367&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

[pelsar]

13. a TV series for you...

look up: Zara's Blue Eyes iran

Iranians have been exposed recently to a fictionalized television series titled, "Zahra's Blue Eyes," or "For You, Palestine." The program, carried on Sahar-1 T-V, follows the career of a fictional Israeli political candidate who supports the harvesting of the organs of Palestinian children by Israeli doctors. The fictional candidate is especially interested in obtaining seven-year old Zahra's eyes for his own son because her eyes remind him of his wife's.

The series, carried on Sahar-1 T-V, was written and directed by Ali Derakhshni, a former official with Iran's education ministry. In an interview, Mr. Derakhshni said, "The major film companies are under the Zionists' influence. Fortunately, the Iranian Islamic Republic and our Islamic regime have made many films and series like 'Zahra's Blue Eyes,' which is a film about children."

As an incitement to hatred of Israelis and Jews, "Zahra's Blue Eyes" is hard to top. It is equally vicious in its falsification of the kind of people Israelis are and in its attribution to them of inhuman motives.

iran "doesnt really mean it"....

typical assymetical cultural exchange: israel shows egyptian/iranian/palestinian films etc without a problem...even makes films about the palestinians ...the other way doesnt go...and that is because

(and it seems posters here support such hypocrisy....)
or is this one of those: we expect more out of israel (i.e., we expect less from the arabs/persians, we have a double standard)

[oblivious]

4. That's too bad.

I can imagine all you need is one big-mouth hardliner in such meetings and the others decide it isn't worth it, so they just drop it.

It was at least a bit encouraging that the film was invited though.

Edit: I didn't mean this as a criticism of your position MrPrax. A general boycott is a separate issue.

[newyorican]

6. Similar treatment...

...to the play about Rachel Corrie?

[oberliner]

11. Exactly

And we all know how angry people got about that.

Hopefully people in Iran will make sure that this film gets shown in spite of this setback.

[breakaleg]

8. I don't have a lot of sympathy for Israel on this issue. If the situation were

reversed, they would likely do the same thing.

[oberliner]

9. Iranian films are routinely included in Israeli film festivals.

The film "Cafe Transit" which was Iran's submission in the Best Foreign Film category for the 2006 Oscars was screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival this past November.

[breakaleg]

10. I stand corrected. My post was made really in reference to one above.

Considering what Israel is trying to instigate against Iran, I hardly think they should expect anything less at the moment.