Iran: US Filmmakers Demand "Free Jafar Panahi"

Many thanks to the EA reader who notified us of this petition:

Jafar Panahi, the internationally acclaimed Iranian director of such award-winning films as The White Balloon, The Circle, Crimson Gold and Offside, was arrested at his home on March 1st in a raid by plain-clothed security forces. He has been held since then in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.



A recent letter from Mr. Panahi’s wife expressed her deep concerns about her husband's heart condition, and about his having been moved to a smaller cell. Mr. Panahi’s films have been banned from screening in Iran for the past ten years and he has effectively been kept from working for the past four years. Last October, his passport was confiscated and he was banned from leaving the country. Upon his arrest, Islamic Republic officials initially charged Mr. Panahi with “unspecified crimes.” They have since reversed themselves, and the charges are now specifically related to his work as a filmmaker.

We (the undersigned) stand in solidarity with a fellow filmmaker, condemn this detention, and strongly urge the Iranian government to release Mr. Panahi immediately.

Iran’s contributions to international cinema have been rightfully heralded, and encouraged those of us outside the country to respect and cherish its people and their stories. Like artists everywhere, Iran’s filmmakers should be celebrated, not censored, repressed, and imprisoned.

Signed:

Paul Thomas Anderson
Joel & Ethan Coen
Francis Ford Coppola
Jonathan Demme
Robert De Niro
Curtis Hanson
Jim Jarmusch
Ang Lee
Richard Linklater
Terrence Malick
Michael Moore
Robert Redford
Martin Scorsese
James Schamus
Paul Schrader
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Spielberg
Oliver Stone
Frederick Wiseman

Matlin's America: Life on a Small Stage in the Carolinas

It is a far, far better article that I write because it is almost devoid of national politics, whether American or British.

For more than 48 hours, I have been without internet access. This means I have had to rely on television or newspapers for national news, but with all due respect, CNN, Fox, local news channels and USA Today do not offer much.


I assume the UK General Election is producing its daily round of nonsense, but I can’t be sure. I know that US Republicans filibustered the new financial and banking laws, preventing a debate, but I gather that the Democrats' Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid,will be able to re-introduce the bill next week. I can't say I understand the rules of the US Congress. However, as a practising lawyer for many years, I understand the value of a legislator who knows how to use process and the rules of the game, to defeat an opponent, even if the subject matter of the laws being debated deserve a hearing and a better fate.

My wife finally escaped the handcuffs of the Icelandic volcano so, for the past few days, we have been sampling the delights of the Carolinas and Georgia. We have now stayed in both Beauforts in North and South Carolina (“Bewferd” or “Bewfert”,depending on whether you are in the Northern or Southern version).

"Bewfert", South Carolina, is best known as a location for Forrest Gump, The Patriot, and many other films, and the site of the book and movie Prince of Tides. (More than one local was keen to tell us that Barbra Streisand, one of the stars of Prince of Tides, didn’t make much of an impression. “She sent a message to the local air force base not to fly over where she was staying because she needed to concentrate herself into her part. What a piece of work!”)

I have learned much from the Carolinians and Georgians. They are some of the most polite, charming people I have met. In Charleston, a city where one might have expected less patience as people went about their business, Southern charm was abundant. Likewise in Savannah, another jewel of this country, drivers didn’t hoot or complain as I managed to drive in wrong lanes with consummate consistency.

However, and sadly there has to be a “however”, there is an iron fist in a velvet Southern glove, namely sales tax. Food is taxed, albeit at only 2%. Hotel rooms are taxed more viciously, 13.75%. I didn’t look at the clothes bill (with a wife and two daughters, presents must be bought),– but I suspect tax was exacted. True, we Brits pay a hefty 17.5% value added tax but our vendors include it in the overall charge. Psychologically, it doesn’t seem to hurt so much.

Still, I take the view that even if these Southern states and cities doubled their taxes, the trip would be worth the price. Last night in Bewfert/Bewferd, the streets were closed off for a professional bicycle race. As a warm-up, local children were encouraged to race their bikes and tricycles approximately 400 yards along Main Street. Kids from 4 to 8 raced in age groups, to the delight of their friends and families. Nobody cared who won or finished last (except maybe those who came first or last). Most were rewarded with ice creams from the local parlour "Something Sweets". What a place!

I don’t want to appear as if I’ve converted to Norman Rockwellism. All too soon we will arrive in Miami Beach to meet up with our daughters, returning to “normality.” I will not encounter politeness and friendliness on Collins Avenue or Ocean Drive. Miami Beach may have its selling points --- if you are into art deco, you’ll have a ball --- but "charm" is not one of them. And I know I will re-engage with national politics all too soon.

Let it be noted, however, that I have enjoyed living life on a small stage.

UPDATED Iran: Tehran, Defender of Rights (Don't Mention Boobquake), Joins UN Commission on Status of Women

UPDATED 1 MAY: There have been numerous public statements denouncing the vote for Iran's membership of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Two examples:

Mission Free Iran: "While hundreds of our sisters suffer in prison because they stood up for their own rights, the UN Commission on the Status of Women dares to stand against them by allowing the Islamic regime a seat at the table."

How Iran News is Made: Adultery, Earthquakes, and the BBC
The Latest from Iran (30 April): The Heaviness of the Atmosphere

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center: "The women of Iran and the rest of the world deserve better. The United Nations and the
world must not let Mr. Ahmadinejad and the government he leads continue to violate the human rights of Iranians.

UPDATED 30 APRIL: The incomparable Tom Lehrer said that, when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, "It was the day satire died."

Well, satire may have been slain again. From Wednesday's report of the United Nations Economic and Social Council:

The Council elected 11 new members to fill an equal number of vacancies on the Commission on the Status of Women for four-year terms beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s fifty-sixth session in 2011 and expiring at the close of its fifty-ninth session in 2015. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Zimbabwe were elected from the Group of African States; Iran and Thailand were elected from the Group of Asian States; Estonia and Georgia were elected from the Group of Eastern European States; Jamaica was elected from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States; and Belgium, Netherlands and Spain were elected from the Group of Western European and Other States.

In the category of You Really Couldn't Make This Up:

Iranian authorities have confirmed reports of their withdrawal from membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council and announced their candidacy for the International Commission for Protection of Women's Rights. [This is probably a reference to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.]

Beyond the implication of "Well, if we're not allowed to represent humans, we'll take the second-best of representing women", Iranian officials might ponder the juxtaposition of applying for the ICPWR when dozens of women's rights activists are being protected through detention in Iran's prisons.

In making their application, they might consult Shirin Ebadi (living in exile, threatened with confiscation of her Nobel Peace Prize and closure of her Centre for the Defence of Human Rights), Shadi Sadr (defense lawyer of Shiva Nazar Ahari, human rights activists and member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters,who has been detained since 14 June), or Zahra Rahnavard (surrounded and attacked by plainclothes forces on 11 February), or Bahareh Hedayat (nominated for the 2010 Students Peace Prize but sitting in Evin Prison).

Still, this is far from the first proclamation of the Iranian regime that it is the true protector of women. When Tehran realised that activists and groups inside and outside Iran were making statements for International Women's Day (8 March) that inconveniently mentioned not only equality but also justice and rights, the Supreme Leader belatedly brought out a Valentine card, recycling his statement of 14 February on "women's rights and role in society".

So perhaps Iran can offer bona fides for its new campaign with an endorsement of Boobquake. The humourous Facebook response to the messages by Hojatoleslam Seddiqi and Ayatollah Jannati at Tehran Friday Prayers --- immorality causes earthquakes; what immorality? why, wearing inappropriate dresses, leading on young men, encouraging sinful thoughts --- has now escalated into rallies on Monday from New York City to Washington DC to West Lafayette, Indiana.

That's a long way for the Supreme Leader to travel, and I've heard it's a bit difficult getting a permit to march in Tehran these days. But perhaps Ayatollah Khamenei might put on a fetching "Boobquake 2010: Who Says Science Has to Be Boring?" T-shirt (50% of profits to the International Red Cross; 50% to the James Randi Educational Foundation). Or maybe noted wordsmith President Ahmadinejad can offer a quip about "weapons of mass destruction".

But at least, the Iranian officials who are sharpening up that application for the UN might add this to their dossier: how many "immoral" women do you think will be detained and held without charge on Monday?