Filmmaker’s Family Blocked From Boarding Flight in Tehran: “Iran is Sick and Making Everyone Sick”
Filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi poses for a photo beside his mother Iran Hamzehie. Several members of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Bahman ...
Tag : Art
July 30, 2019
Iranian Heavy Metal Band Members Escape to Norway After Receiving Prison Sentences
Nikan Khosravi and Arash Ilkhani, members of the Iranian heavy metal band Confess, have left Iran to escape prosecution and prison for their art. “We took a risk and left the country so that we could continue ...
July 24, 2019
Mohammad Rasoulof’s Films Were Banned in Iran, Now He’s Been Sentenced to Prison
“We have to pay a price, and every person will pay some price,” says acclaimed filmmaker July 24, 2019 – The sentencing of award-winning filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof to one year in prison for the content of his films has highlighted ...
June 20, 2019
Abdolreza Kahani: “We are Born Into Censorship”
In Iran, the Ministry of Guidance and Islamic Culture imposes a strict process of review and approval for all screenplays before films can be legally produced in the country. Films that are produced also face censorship, and directors ...
February 22, 2019
Concert Cancellations Continue in Mashhad Due to Intolerance by Religious Conservatives
A concert by the popular Persian pop band Hoorosh was canceled by judicial order an hour before show time on February 20, 2019, in the city of Firouzeh, northeastern ...
January 14, 2019
Musician Ali Ghamsari Banned From Performing in Iran After Refusing to Remove Female Singer
"Our Sing-Along Didn’t Violate Any Rules" After the Iranian authorities banned musician Ali Ghamsari from performing “until further notice” for refusing to remove a female singer from his most recent concert in Tehran, he ...
January 11, 2019
Famed Iranian Playwright Mohammad Rahmanian Charged for Allegedly Featuring Female Soloist
Complaint Brought by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Prominent Iranian theater director and playwright Mohammad Rahmanian has been charged with “propaganda against the state” based on a complaint by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for allegedly featuring ...
March 30, 2018
Metal Band Member Sentenced to Six Years Prison in Iran Accused of Creating “Satanic Music”
Nikan Khosravi, a member of the Iranian metal band “Confess,” left Iran for Turkey to avoid being imprisoned for six years for producing metal music, he told the Center for Human Rights in Iran ...
January 24, 2018
She’s a Professional Iranian Singer But is Banned from Singing on Stage in Her Country
“I am a professional Iranian singer but I am only ...
December 8, 2017
Iran’s Culture Minister Says He’s Trying to “Transform” Conservative Clerics’ Views on Music
Before musicians can perform concerts in Iran without the threat of the authorities suddenly canceling them, someone has to convince conservative Shia Muslim clerics that music is not un-Islamic. “Some of the things that ...
May 5, 2017
Rouhani Government Touts Amendment Blocking Police From Unilaterally Stopping Music Concerts
Effectiveness of Legal Measure Remains Unclear The government of President Hassan Rouhani has announced the passage of a new amendment intended to block police from preventing sanctioned music concerts without a court ...
November 6, 2016
Ailing Music Distributor Refuses Hospital Treatment, Vows to Hunger Strike Until Demands Met
Imprisoned music distributor Mehdi Rajabian, who is currently on hunger strike with his brother Hossein Rajabian, has refused hospital treatment for his deteriorating health. The Rajabians were previously tricked into ...