The smuggling of movies must be stopped so that online screenings can come to life
Charso Press: The producer of the movie “Sekam Habs”, which has just started its online release, said about the online release of movies after the release in theaters: After the spread of the corona virus, we inevitably used other possibilities of showing the film, and the online release is a It became a serious option. In my opinion, this is a suitable platform, but in order to take advantage of this platform, there are conditions that we must pay special attention to in the future.
This cinema producer, whose film has been screened online on the Filmnet platform, noted: One of the main conditions for benefiting from the full capacity of online screening is that we can prevent the smuggling of films and their showing on satellite channels, but unfortunately, due to Non-implementation of the copyright law immediately after movies are released online, their pirated versions are available to the public on the internet, and satellite channels broadcast these movies again and again.
He added: If the copyright law is implemented in our country, since we have a problem with the number of cinema halls and in many areas there are no cinemas at all and the space for the release of films in cinemas is limited, online screening can compensate for this deficiency. Since today almost everywhere in the country it is possible to access the Internet, in this way we can have a much larger audience not only in the country but also in the world, which naturally makes the films sell better. At the time of the release of Sekam Habs, many people called me and said that they were waiting for the online screening of this movie because they could not go to the cinema.
Pointing to the necessity of creating a culture for using the legal version of movies, Salver said: this culture has been done to some extent and we are witnessing that even though the smuggled version of a movie like “Subtraction” has been made available to the public, with its online release, many people buy tickets and Platforms watch movies, but we still need to expand this culture, and in this field, even platforms can be effective.
He added: In my opinion, the platforms should be placed in a competitive environment and the situation should not be such that only a certain group of cinematographers can have successful cooperation with them. In the past, due to the lack of movie screening platforms, an exclusive space was created, but fortunately, with the addition of several other platforms, this monopoly has been broken today, and with platforms such as Filmnet, I have become more hopeful for this space. Screening platforms can be influential in creating a culture for using the legal version of movies, and I hope this competitive environment will make them pay special attention to this issue.
Pointing to the small gap between the release time in theaters and the online release time of the movie “Three Prison Prisoners”, Salver said: Experience has shown that films with a shorter time between their public release and online release have a greater chance of success due to the advertisements that have been made in the virtual space. They have an audience opinion. The Filmnet platform belongs to people who are themselves from the cinema body, and for this reason, these friends do not have a purely economic view of cinema, and cinematic and artistic concerns are also seen in the performance of this platform, which is very promising. Fortunately, friends respected the owners of the film and this film was released online in a two-way interaction, and I hope this look and performance will continue on the Filmnet platform.
This producer said about the state of Iran’s social cinema: “Sekam Habas” has been the best-selling social film of the year so far, and in the online release, we can pay attention to the global audience and increase the sales of the film, but “Sekam Habas” is an exception. And if you look at the sales table, you will notice that most of the best-selling movies are comedies. Today, social cinema needs support more than ever, unfortunately, this cinema is getting worse every day because our cultural policymakers are not performing properly and the production of social films has decreased, and when we don’t have proper production, we certainly don’t want proper supply. and the role of social cinema is fading in the box office.
He further expressed his opinion by referring to the performance of the Ministry of Guidance’s film organization: in recent years, unfortunately, censorship has become more colorful and social films either face severe censorship or are not given permission at all. It seems that the more neutral the films are, the more possible they are to make, while a social film can be successful if it can present an image of its society and is not neutral. In my opinion, with the situation we are witnessing, we will see more socially neutral films in the coming years, and this is the danger that threatens this cinema.
Salver pointed out: Since this film (Sekam Habis) was licensed in 2018, the previous government cooperated well with us, but the new government, in addition to the production issue, is also trying to marginalize social cinema in the field of screening, and we are witnessing this. Most of the scenes have been used for comedy films. If the authorities are concerned about social cinema, they should change this situation and have more interaction with filmmakers and reduce the strictures for obtaining a license.
He further said: A movie is judged in its entirety and the conclusion of the movie should be based on the whole movie, but unfortunately, the friends in the Council for Production Permits and Exhibition Permits judge the works sequence by sequence and examine each sequence separately. They give and do not pay attention to the overall result of the effect.
Salver said about the success factors of the movie “Sekam Habs” at the box office: This movie raises a big and important problem. No matter how sad this attitude is, we cannot deny the existence of addiction in our country. This film somehow pathologizes this phenomenon, and unfortunately, the authorities of our country and the many wide and long organizations that exist, instead of supporting such films, as always, try to erase the face of the problem, and this is for social cinema, which wants to reflect the realities of society. Say it is not accepted. In my opinion, one of the main reasons for the success of this film is its true look at the problem it raises.
In the end, the producer of the movie “Highlight” emphasized: “Some consider the bitterness of the movie “Sekam Habis” to be one of the negative points about it, if this bitterness comes from a reality. Today, if someone decides to use drugs, it is easier for him to get drugs than to buy bread. As filmmakers, when we decide to make a film about this issue, we have to portray the reality, but our job is not to show the solution, we are only shining a light on the dark parts of our society that are less noticed.