Iran Arts Festival Rendered Not so Festive…………..
“It is Iran's answer to Cannes, Venice and Berlin rolled into one. The cinematic and cultural highlight of the Islamic republic's calendar, the annual Fajr festival in Tehran is a 10-day extravaganza of film, drama, poetry and literature. This year's event, which opens on Monday, ought to be a magnet for the country's artistic elite and a host of international stars. But Ken Loach and the British theatre director Peter Brook are among leading Western artistic figures who have informed the Islamic regime they are pulling out in protest at its brutal crackdown on the opposition, which includes torture, prison rapes, countless killings and Stalinist-style televised show trials of reformists. Ministries in charge of the state-run festival had already rescheduled this year's event, so that foreign visitors would not witness expected clashes at "green movement" rallies timed for 11 February, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. But the collision of art and political reality has left them scrabbling to find replacement films and plays……….”
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