Producers' lack of responsibility for the activities of unveiled actors

The head of the Cinema Producers Union said: "Producers have no responsibility for the activities of un-veiled actors."

Gholamreza Mousavi, head of the Cinema Producers Union, said in response to a recent letter from the Deputy for Supervision and Evaluation regarding the activities of some female actresses: "This letter consisted of two parts. One part is about obtaining a filmmaking license, which is a legal and professional procedure and is enforceable, but producers have no responsibility for the activities of unveiled actresses."

"When the aforementioned letter was raised at the Producers' Union board of directors, our colleagues did not have any serious issues with the first part, but the second part of the letter had fundamental flaws. Among them is that the responsibility of the cinema producer is solely dependent on the conditions of the time and place of filming."

Gholamreza Mousavi continued: "The producer is responsible for the film in the three stages of pre-production, production, and post-production, and this responsibility is limited only to the time and place of filming in front of the camera, and the issue requested in the letter is beyond the law. In addition, no one can stop another except with the ruling of a competent court, and only a competent court can vote whether this lady or gentleman can work or not."

He added: "They had given the example of not working with someone who has removed the hijab, but we cannot decide on this matter and the main decision-maker is the competent court. I conveyed the board of directors' opinions to the deputy evaluation officer and announced that the producers are only responsible for the place and time of the film's production and that the request mentioned in the letter cannot be implemented and must go through certain steps."

"If someone is to be banned from working because they are not wearing a hijab, the court must determine this, and then a copy of the ruling must be delivered to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs will notify the producers."

He also stated that the second part of the letter, which concerns responsibility for the activities of un-veiled actors, is not approved by the Producers' Union's board of directors.