Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian was set to attend the International Film Festival of India for the premiere of the new film A Minor, when his passport was snatched at the Tehran airport by authorities and referred to an Iranian court for prosecution.
Directed by Dariush Mehrjui, Iranian film A Minor is produced by Reza Dormishian, and was screened at the competition section of the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Thursday and Friday. Reportedly, he was barred from leaving the country because of his recent posts on Instagram where he expressed his support for the people speaking out during Iran’s nationwide protests.
Reza condemned the government’s actions on imprisoning filmmakers and even shared several posts on his Instagram expressing solidarity with imprisoned directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. “Throughout the nationwide protests in Iran, Dormishian shared various posts on his Instagram account to show support for the significant developments,” reported Variety, with the sources close to the director-producer.
The film A Minor, tells the story of a woman who is torn between her free-thinking daughter, who wants to study music, and her more conservative husband. Reza had been invited by the IFFI to accompany the film. However, the screenings of the film went ahead without him on Thursday and Friday.
The ongoing turmoil in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini while in police custody has sparked nationwide protests. The action taken agai Reza is not the first time the government has taken steps to curb the filmmaking community.
In October, filmmaker Mani Haghighi’s passport was confiscated when he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival. Earlier this month, co-directors Farnaz Jurabchian and Mohammadreza Jurabchian, who had made the documentary Silent House, were also blocked from visiting the Netherlands for the premiere of the film at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.
