S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000052

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

LONDON FOR GAYLE, BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/16/2017
TAGS: IR PGOV PREL SOCI SCUL
SUBJECT: USG-INVITED IRANIAN FILMMAKERS FACE REPRISALS

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CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Acting Director, Iran Regional
Presence Office, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

1.(S/NF) Summary: The Iranian government has been exerting
pressure on some participants in the International Visitors
Leadership Program (IVLP) for documentary filmmakers after their
return to Iran. One filmmaker who is a friend of a participant
in the May/June 2007 IVLP program told IRPO that all seven of
the participants in that program had their passports confiscated
upon their return to Iran and face hearings at the Revolutionary
Court within the next month. They have been told they will not
be allowed to travel outside Iran for a year, but the government
is apparently not interfering with their work. It is important
to note that this is the only IVLP group for Iran thus far that
has faced any reprisals from the government upon their return.
In related news, renowned Iranian filmmaker Kamran Shirdel
issued a public refusal to attend an event (not sponsored by the
USG) in the US honoring his work as a protest against USG
policies toward Iran, including a likely reference to the IVLP
program. End summary.

2.(S/NF) Iranian participants in the May/June 2007 State
Department's International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP)
for documentary filmmakers have reportedly been subject to some
government pressure and travel bans since their return to Iran,
as reported by some of the participants by email to IRPoffs and
a friend of one the participants (who is himself a documentary
filmmaker). The filmmakers had defied a warning from the
Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry not to participate and
traveled to the US for the USG-sponsored program. Ministry
officials indicated to the filmmakers their belief that the IVLP
program was political, not cultural, in nature.

3.(S/NF) Four of the IVLP participants returned from the US a
few days ahead of the other three and had their passports
confiscated.

They then warned the rest but the other three
chose to return to Iran nonetheless and also had their passports
taken. The friend who met with IRPoff August 15 said he
suspected that one of the seven participants was a "spy" for the
Iranian government, without offering a specific name.

4.(S/NF) The IVLP participants have been called before the
revolutionary court for hearings, with court dates set for
sometime within the next month (mid-August to mid-September
2007). According to the friend, when the seven filmmakers
attempted to travel to some European countries for film
festivals, they were told that they will not be permitted to
travel outside the country for one year. The government has not
otherwise interfered with the work of the IVLP participants
since their return to Iran, according to the contact. In emails
from Iran, several participants have indicated to IRPoffs that
they believe their problems will be resolved soon and that the
benefits of the exchange outweigh the difficulties they are now
facing.

5.(C) There is apparently no general travel ban to the US for
filmmakers. Two filmmakers and an actor applied for visas to
the US in the past two weeks - one, the friend cited above, who
is screening his short documentary in a New York film
festival,and another filmmaker and one of his actors who are
planning to screen their fiction film in California. The actor
alleged that the Culture and Islamic Guidance ministry had
seized the film earlier this year when they intended to screen
it in the US, but they appear to have received the ministry's
permission to screen the film now and they plan to travel to the
US for that purpose in the coming month. The second filmmaker
said he intends to invite some Americans involved in film to
Iran on a cultural exchange, and the first filmmaker told IRPoff
that he would like to make a documentary about applying for a US
visa.

6.(C) Comment: Iranian government paranoia of a US-led "soft"
revolution and crackdown on intellectual ties with the US means
that cultural exchanges with Iran are likely to remain
politicized. It is important to note, however, that this is the
only IVLP group for Iran thus far that has faced reprisals from
the government upon return to Iran. Separately, renowned
Iranian filmmaker Kamran Shirdel made a veiled reference to USG
cultural programs in his public refusal to attend a ceremony
organized in his honor by the Asia Society in New York in
October 2007 in protest of US policy. Among other charges, he
said, the "secret programs of the US government which (they
claim) are contrived to 'help' Iranian artists and intellectuals
prove correct the theory that the United States does not want or

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cannot permit other nations to choose, decide, and gain
experience on their own, so it tries to subvert their values and
ruin all their experiences." As long as the Iranian government
does not overtly ban participation in USG programs like the
IVLP, however, at least some invitees are likely to continue to
take the opportunity.
BURNS