The license of “Leila Brothers” was issued in the previous government/ we have no tolerance for wrongdoers

According to Fars news agency, Ruhollah Sohrabi, Director General of the Cinema Organization’s Screening Supervision Department, said on the sidelines of the illegal release of the movie version of “Leila Brothers” that the script of “Leila Brothers” was reviewed by the production license council of the previous government. Regardless of the general theme and content of the film, which, like any other film, has its pros and cons, but what brought this film to the sidelines was the unprofessional behavior and contrary to the laws and regulations approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance on the part of the main actors of this film. which caused the screening license council of the cinema organization to refuse to see this film and evaluate it. The permission to make the film “Leila Brothers” was issued by the film authorities of the previous government.

According to Sohrabi, this film took part in foreign festivals before obtaining the necessary permission, and in the next stage, it was released to the public outside the country without obtaining permission from the cinema organization.

He added: If a film is released on foreign platforms, it will naturally enter the smuggling network, so the main actors of the film should have realized this issue so that they would not have caused the illegal release of the film. Based on its inherent duty, one of the most important of which is to support the screening of cinematographic works and manage the cinema economy, regardless of the misconduct of the film crews, it tried to solve the problem of the mentioned film by adopting a corrective and interactive approach, but each time for a reason. This was not possible and our successive meetings to solve the problems of the film were unsuccessful.

According to him, the disobedience of the film’s owners to carry out reforms before attending the Cannes festival and the public screening of the film abroad before obtaining the necessary permits and the opposition of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance to the screening of a film that, in addition to its bitter and disappointing content, He started his work by breaking the law, which was one of the reasons that caused the issue and problem of this film to remain unsolved.

He stated: Of course, during the last two months, the investor, the producers and the director of the film announced their readiness for any correction, and finally, with the mediation of the head of the cinematographic organization, the Cinematographic Screening License Council agreed to review the film. After the review, the Council made serious and fundamental amendments to the film, and if the Minister of Education agrees with the principle of the screening of “Leila Brothers”, the amendments considered by the Council will also be given to the film crew so that the natural path of the film can be followed to reach the public screening. But just in these days and before determining the final task, the publication of an illegal version in cyberspace and the widespread smuggling of a film that was illegally published outside of Iran messed up all our equations to solve this problem, and the film without any care and correction and without receiving even a screening license from the cinematographic organization of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, it entered the market and reached the audience.

In the end, Sohrabi emphasized: As it has been announced before, all-round and comprehensive interaction with artists and special assistance and support for cinematographic works were and are among the inherent priorities and tasks of the cinematographic organization, and this approach will undoubtedly continue. However, this organization, while adopting an interactive and supportive approach, in order to protect the dignity and credibility of Iran’s noble cinema and maintain and promote public trust in this influential art-industry, not only in issuing production licenses but also in issuing permission to show works, has no tolerance towards individuals. There is no wrongdoing in the agenda and if a film is produced without going through legal procedures or released before obtaining a screening license, the consequences of taking such illegal decisions and procedures are the responsibility of the creators of the work.

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