“Based on the talks we had with members of the Screening Council of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the decision to stop the screening of the film was agreed upon,” Sadr-Ameli said.
“We were negotiating with the Health Ministry to screen the film for health care staff in hospitals dealing with the coronavirus to watch the film for free. However, due to the increasing death toll and the current situation we decided to stop the screening, and hope that in rescreening the movie at some future time the staff will have more free time to watch the film in peace and with less anxiety,” he said.
“When the movie theaters resumed activities and the film went on-screen three weeks ago, the death toll numbers were low and we did not think they would increase in less than two weeks. We are waiting for this virus to be controlled so the rescreening can begin,” he added.
Mohammad Kart’s directorial debut, “Butterfly Swimming,” tells the story of Hashem, a gang member whose wife’s swimming video goes viral. Now Hashem and his brother-in-law Hojjat are looking for the person who uploaded the video on the net.
In addition, the Secretary of the council, Morteza Shayesteh, said that the film “There at the Same Time” by director Sirus Alvand, which was due to go on screen this Wednesday, will have a one week delay and will hit the silver screens next week.
Shayesteh said that those films whose screenings were canceled will face a six-month penalty, but due to the current situation, this might not be a problem.
However, the film “Women Are Angels 2” by Arash Moayyerian will go on screen this week alongside the onscreen movie “Good, Bad, Garish 2: The Secret Army” by Peyman Qasemkhani.
Last week, producer Ahmad Ahmadi canceled the Iranian premiere of his latest film “Pishi Mishi” after a massive rise in the death toll from coronavirus in the country over the past few days.
He had said, “All the movie theaters were due to reopen after the coronavirus death toll had decreased, but in the recent days with the rapid spread of the new virus and the closure of some movie theaters, especially in other cities, we have no choice but to cancel the film screening.”
“The film has been made without the help of a public loan and is an independent movie, and being from the private sector, it is difficult to screen this film; canceling it will surely lead to its demise. This is a comedy for children and families, and in these hard days of coronavirus, the health of the audience is much more important,” he had said.
“Pishi Mishi” is a children’s comedy about Farhad’s love of Maloos.
The movie stars Reza Shafi-Jam, Bahareh Rahnama, Saed Hedayati and Mohammad Shiri.
Source: Tehran Times