The future of the globally appreciated Iranian cinema, which is suffering at the hands of ‘strict’ rules from the state authorities, stern censorships and financial constraints faced by production houses, is dismal, felt Mohammad Sina Ghasemi Mousavi, one of the makers of the film Girls of the Sea, which is competing at the ongoing 30 Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).

Mousavi’s production house film, Dokhtarane Darya, and Girls of the Sea in English, is part of the international competition movies in the film festival this year. Unlike the other Iranian films that generally have protagonists from their home country, the film, Dokhtarane Darya centres around the character Goli, an Afghan girl, who illegally escapes to Iran from Afghanistan after suffering atrocities at the hands of Taliban. With dreams of living free and a dignified life, Goli aspires to immigrate to some other countries from Iran and comes across a group that actually traffics such young victims of circumstances luring them with well-paid jobs. With the portrayal of Goli played by an Iranian actor, in a humane manner despite her plight, the film highlights the struggles of Afghan immigrants in Iran and the way they are treated in the country.

Another Iranian film that became a crowd puller on the second day of the film festival, was acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s script and editing, The Witness. The movie, also having a woman as the central character, is a beautiful portrayal of the prevailing socio-political issues in Iran. Centered around the character of an elderly social activist Mrs Ghorbani, the film underlines the ongoing protests against hijab apart from issues like marital abuse, patriarchal dominance and so on.

Mr Mousavi’s fear, if come true, could be a blow to the cinephiles of Kolkata, who are great admirers of Iranian cinema. Even amid the prevailing chill, film buffs queued up in front of the venues of the 30 KIFF to catch a glimpse of the two movies. However, despite huge acclaim from audiences in the City of Joy, whether the film would be able to find a place in the home country is still uncertain. As pointed out by Mr Mousavi, about the present situation of filmmaking in Iran, strict censorship from the government at every step and unavailability of funds being the two major hurdles for good filmmaking in Iran. Amid the stern surveillance, the filmmaker is not even sure if his movie, Dokhtarane Darya, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Davoud Atyabi, would be released in his home country.

“Even before making the film, the makers have to submit the screenplay to the government authorities. While few filmmakers manage to get some funds from the country itself, most of the money is funded from outside. This sometimes prevents casting of good and renowned actors amid financial constraints. Since the government is very particular about the kind of portrayal of stories depicting the country, its release overseas also becomes a challenge,” informed Mr Mousavi. Asked why Iranian cinemas are not spotted on OTT platforms generally despite their great story and audience, he said, “Because of sanctions imposed, we cannot portray our movies on global online platforms. As the government is very particular about socio-political issues going viral, there are fears of repercussions back home.”

The situation of filmmaking in Iran is so grim, that hardly 100 films are able to hit the silver screens every year. “There are hardly any good movies releasing in the cinema halls of Iran. Those hitting the screens are mostly cheap comedies. Making good films is very difficult there and it is becoming worse with every passing year,” he said. Reiterating the socio-political scenario, Mr Mousavi claimed a general resistance by most of the citizens against the harsh rules of the government still prevailing. Most of the elite class do not live in the country and prefer staying abroad in European countries.

According to the filmmakers, the Afghan refugees form around 90 per cent of the total immigrants into Iran. Considering this fact, the immigrants are looked down upon as threats by the Iranian citizens. The filmmakers wanted to break the general notion by portraying the good side of the Afghan character in the film.