[Reader-list] TAHMINEH MILANI UPDATE
Harsh Kapoor
aiindex at mnet.fr
Thu Nov 15 18:38:10 IST 2001
FACETS MULTIMEDIA
TAHMINEH MILANI UPDATE
Ms. Milani's Status
Over Fifteen Hundred Signatures to Declaration of Solidarity
Solidarity Expressed by Women Filmmakers
Institutions Endorse Declaration
Continued High-Profile Press Coverage
What You Can Do
For Immediate Release November 6, 2001
For further information, please contact Ray Privett at 1 800 331 6197
or ray at facets.org.
As part of its continuing campaign in defense of Ms. Tahmineh Milani,
the Iranian filmmaker detained in Iran in late August and released on
bail soon thereafter, Facets Multimedia issues the following
statement concerning Ms. Milani's status, additional signatures to
the statement of solidarity with Ms. Milani, continued press coverage
of the situation, and about what other parties can do.
Ms. Milani's Status
In the words of Mohammad Nikbin, Tahmineh Milani's husband, producer,
and translator, "our case is in the same situation as before." This
means that the charges of supporting those waging war against god and
misusing the arts in support of counterrevolutionary and armed
opposition groups have not been dropped. Those crimes are potentially
punishable by execution under Islamic law in Iran.
In late August, Tahmineh Milani was arrested and detained for several
days, during which time she was interrogated and items were
confiscated from her home. After being held for several days, she was
released on bail following the intervention of Mohammad Khatami,
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Facets Multimedia has repeatedly attempted to clarify the situation,
and to follow the best course of action. A statement of solidarity by
filmmakers was written and started by Los Angeles-based writer and
translator Dorna Khazeni at the suggestion of French filmmaker
Catherine Breillat. Prior to expanding the declaration and actively
soliciting the participation of other filmmakers, Facets consulted
with Mr. Nikbin and others. Mr. Nikbin has expressed repeated thanks
to all those who have signed the declaration, saying "all the
pressure and publicity will help to get the case closed."
Ms. Milani's ability to travel abroad has not been hampered. She and
Mr. Nikbin traveled recently to Cairo, Egypt, for a film festival,
and will travel to Boston, in the United States, on November 9, 2001.
They will then travel to California on November 15, and be back on
the U.S. East Coast by the end of November. At some point they may
stopover in Chicago. Thereafter they will return to Iran.
The charges against Tahmineh Milani remain pending. She has not been
cleared and the charges have not been dropped. Facets' ultimate goal
in this campaign is for those charges to be dropped.
Over Fifteen Hundred Signatures to Declaration of Solidarity
Since releasing an initial declaration of solidarity with Ms.
Tahmineh Milani on October 26, 2001, a declaration signed by 108
filmmakers, the declaration has grown to bear now the signatures of
over 1500 people. Several hundred of these are filmmakers; many
others are film world professionals; many others have no direct
involvement with the film world. Facets has not tracked the
nationalities of all of the signatories, however it is clear that
they come from every continent on Earth, and dozens if not hundreds
of countries.
Among the signatories are numerous women filmmakers, including
Allison Anders, Catherine Breillat, Michelle Citron, Sofia Coppola,
Faye Dunaway, Su Friedrich, Marina Goldovskaya, Mary Harron,
Agnieszka Holland, Sarah Jacobson, Lucrecia Martel, Alice Nellis,
Yvonne Rainer, Molly Ringwald, Greta Schiller, Cauleen Smith, Susan
Sontag, Amy Taubin, and many others.
The petition has also received institutional endorsements from over
seventy-five institutions, including the Association of Independent
Video and Filmmakers, the Black Filmmaker Foundation, the Canadian
Film Institute, the Directors' Guild of Canada, Zeitgeist Films, film
festivals in Greece, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States,
and many others.
Facets plans to send an updated copy of the petition with all its
current signatories to representatives within Iran shortly.
Continued High-Profile Press Coverage
Coverage of the situation has appeared in numerous press outlets.
These include the newspapers The Guardian and Hayate-No; the
entertainment trade paper Variety; the internet film magazines
filmfestivals.com, indieWIRE, and Film Threat; and radio stations and
programs including Norwegian Broadcasting, Democracy Now! (U.S.), and
Cinema Scene (Melbourne, Australia). Articles are in development at
numerous other newspapers and magazines, including many extremely
high-profile papers.
What You Can Do
Other filmmakers, organizations, and individuals who would like to
express their solidarity with Ms. Milani are invited to send faxes to
His Excellency Mr. Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, at 98 21 649 5880; His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud
Hashemi Shahrudi, Minister of Justice, at 98 21 646 5242; His
Excellency Mr. Masjed Jamee, Minister of Culture and Islamic
Guidance, at 98 21 391 3535; Mr. Mohebbi, President of the Farabi
Cinema Foundation, at 98 21 670 8155; and Ray Privett of Facets
Multimedia at 1 773 929 5437. They are also invited to sign the
petition online at www.facets.org/petition.html, a website with links
that will be updated as new information related to Ms. Tahmineh
Milani's case becomes available.
Facets Multimedia
1517 West Fullerton Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614 USA
1 800 331 6197
www.facets.org
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