Iran Closes The House Of Cinema, Shutters Guilds

Normally, I try my absolute hardest to bring with each news story, a witty and attention grabbing lead. However, when it comes to this story, the atrocities being set against artists in the country of Iran are neither comical, nor is there anything that should have more of your attention than this.

According to reports, the Culture Ministry in Iran has now dissolved the House Of Cinema, the guild which tried its absolute damndest to support independent filmmaking in the strict and rigorous nation, and replaced it with a new committee, which is in place to ‘not deviate from strict Islamic guidelines and politically permissible topics.’

Iran, cinematically, not only has an immensely rich history of taboo breaking and controversial pieces of art, but has been in the spotlight for a few years now, since the unjust arrest and imprisonment of director Jafar Panahi.

With more than 5,000 members and 20 years under its belt, The House Of Cinema was the ‘parent group’ for various guilds in Iran, and this news comes on the eve, of sorts, of what will likely be an Iranian win at this weekend’s Golden Globes, as the country’s A Separation is the frontrunner for the Best Foreign Film.

As a fan of cinema as an art form, this is horrible news. It’s one thing to imprison artists and, in Panahi’s case, take their artistic rights away. That’s just one person, as unjust as it truly is. To systematically and bureaucratically strip the rights away of the entire art form is something wholly different.

What do you think?

Source NY Times