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3 articles from 2007

16 August 2007 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The Iranian animated film Persepolis, which tied for the Cannes Film Festival's Jury Award last May despite protests from the Iranian government, but was yanked from last month's Bangkok Film Festival following similar protests by Iranian officials, has been scheduled to close the New York Film Festival on October 14, organizers said Wednesday. They did not indicate whether they had heard from Iranian representatives. The film by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, about a girl growing up in Iran following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, is due to be released in the U.S. by Sony Classics at the end of the year, with the voices of the leading animated characters provided by Sean Penn, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands and Iggy Pop.

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4 July 2007 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Only days after it was banned by the Bangkok Film Festival, the animated film Persepolis made a sensational debut in France over the weekend, coming in ahead of a slew of Hollywood blockbusters to earn $1.8 million in 199 theaters -- or an average of $9,152 per theater. In May the film by directors Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud took the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. But, bowing to pressure from Iranian officials who objected to its depiction of an Iranian girl's struggle during the turmoil of the Islamic revolution and its aftermath, organizers of the Bangkok Film Festival yanked the film last week. It had been expected to open the festival on July 19. Instead, the festival is expected to announce this week that the opening film will be Andy Vajna's Children of Glory (Szabadság, szerelem), set during the aftermath of another revolution, Hungary's unsuccessful attempt to achieve independence from the Soviet Union in 1956.

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27 June 2007 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

A controversial animated film by two Iranian filmmakers that drew complaints from Iranian officials when it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival last month -- but nevertheless went on to win the Jury Prize -- has been removed from the Bangkok Film Festival. The film, Persepolis, directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, which tells the story of a nine-year-old girl growing up in Iran under fundamentalist restraints, had been expected to open the festival on July 19. However, Chattan Kunjara na Ayudhya of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which is sponsoring the festival, said today (Wednesday) that he was asked to meet with officials at the Iranian embassy about the film "and we both came to mutual agreement that it would be beneficial to both countries if the film was not shown." Chattan did not indicate how Thailand would benefit from the decision to withdraw the film, saying only, "It is a good movie in artistic terms, but we have to consider other issues that might arise here." Kiriangsak Silakong, the festival's chief programmer, appeared upset over the censorship, telling the Bangkok newspaper The Nation, "It's too bad Thai people won't be able to see this film." And Reuters led off its report on the development by commenting, "Thailand has caved in to pressure from Iran...."

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3 articles from 2007