Hooshang Golmakani Criticizes Iranian Critics Association: Is it a Critics’ Association or a Cinematic Organization?
According to cinemadrame news agency, veteran film critic Hooshang Golmakani critiqued the call for nominations from the Iranian Association of Film Critics and Writers in a personal note, writing:
The Association of Film Critics and Writers sent a list of films from the past three years to its members for consultation to select the best of Iranian cinema and present awards at a ceremony. The strange point is that this list seems to have been compiled by the Cinematic Organization, not the Critics’ Association!
This is because important films that either did not receive screening permits or were leaked online due to obstacles in their release, thus losing the chance for a theatrical run, are not included in these three lists. It’s as if they have been completely excluded from Iranian cinema.
The Cinematic Organization only recognizes films for which it has issued production and screening permits. Therefore, it might consider a filmmaker’s fourth film as their first, for example, if their first three films were made abroad or otherwise without official permits from the Cinematic Organization. Whatever this stance of the Cinematic Organization may be, it aligns with its official mission. However, the exclusion of important and controversial films such as “Leila’s Brothers,” “Subtraction,” “My Favorite Cake,” “The Couch,” “Critical Zone,” and other films with similar circumstances by the Critics’ Association is a strange action.
I am not a member of the association and will not participate in this consultation, but I don’t know if the members have raised such a question.
