Anti-Censorship Film “Beyond the Electronic Curtain” to Premier in DC
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran announces the release of “Beyond the Electronic Curtain,” a new documentary film by Tara Kangarlou on the crushing of free speech in Iran. The film will premier in Washington DC, where the director hopes it will have a significant effect on policymakers. The premier will be followed by a panel of experts on Iran discussing the film and the issue of censorship in Iran. The Campaign will announce the details of the venue and date of the panel on its website.
“Beyond the Electronic Curtain” documents the effects of unrelenting censorship on Iranian society. Through the stories of the many journalists in Iran who have been imprisoned for doing their job, the film provides a glimpse into a country where people from all walks of life are deprived of their right to freedom of speech.
The “electronic curtain” refers to the Iranian government’s blanket control over all communication and access to information. Over the past five years, Iran has employed one of the most sophisticated filtering systems in the world. It controls Internet service providers, hunts and imprisons activists via the Internet police, and uses thousands of operators to monitor web content, where it can slow or shut down the Internet and satellite broadcasts at will. Iran ranks first worldwide in the imprisonment of journalists. According to Kangarlou, the film aims to portray the humanity that is imprisoned behind this “electronic curtain” and the dangers that result from this isolation, not just for the Iranian people, but for all those who lack the fundamental right of freedom of speech.