State Film Festival ‘Cinema Truth’ Boycotted by Documentarians and Filmmakers
Cinema Truth is Iran’s international documentary film festival, which began operating in 2007 under the Center for the Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s Organization of Cinema and Audiovisual Media. It annually broadcasts works from Iran’s international documentary film festival in the month of Azar.
The month of Azar in the current year marks the sixteenth edition of the state festival “Cinema Truth,” which coincides with nationwide protests in Iran.
However, this state festival “Cinema Truth” has been boycotted through a statement issued by over 200 Iranian documentarians and filmmakers both inside and outside the country.
According to news agency “Deutsche Welle,” the artists who boycotted Cinema Truth released a statement declaring: “For more than two months, Iran’s protesting people have been subjected to the most brutal crackdowns. Many compassionate citizens, journalists, and cultural and artistic figures are imprisoned, and many children and young people have lost their lives. In these sorrowful and regrettable circumstances, we regard the holding of celebrations and documentary film festivals as disregarding the people’s sorrow, whose true custodians are the cultural and artistic community. We, a group of filmmakers, cultural and artistic figures, and both specialized and general audiences of the sixteenth Cinema Truth film festival, while expressing solidarity with Iran’s noble and bereaved people, boycott any presence and online participation in this edition of the festival.”
The Independent Filmmakers Association of Iran (IIFMA), which was formed outside Iran in recent days, has also supported this statement and announced that this action by cultural and artistic figures is very encouraging and morale-boosting.
Following widespread strikes conducted by many truck drivers and the boycott of products from numerous state companies by dear compatriots, the question now facing the Iranian people is: Will all those who work in government institutions, including those in culture and arts, ministries, and other organizations, join the spirited uprising and nationwide strikes of free-spirited Iranians by boycotting and halting all mechanisms against the Islamic Republic government and for the overthrow of this regime?
