TEHRAN -- All members of the crew for “Laleh” have collectively pulled out of the controversial film project, which will be about the first Iranian female race car driver Laleh Seddiq.
They have withdrawn from the project allegedly for “disagreement, lack of progress in the project and an uncertain future for the production of the film,” a number of Persian news agencies announced on Tuesday.
Among the members of the crew are producer Alireza Sebt-Ahmadi, production manager Mohammadreza Najafi, assistant director Iraj Habashi, cinematographer Turaj Aslani, stage designer Iraj Raminfar, and several others.
They wrote a letter of resignation to Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC) Director Shafi Aqamohammadian and Iran Cinema Organization (ICO) Director Javad Shamaqdari ten days ago, but Aqamohammadian and Shamaqdari asked the producer to remain in the post until they find a replacement for him.
The film project, which is being supported by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and its relevant organizations DEFC and ICO, provoked backbench opposition.
The Majlis Cultural Committee had raised objection to the film project over “the feministic tendencies in the film and its patriarchal image of Iranian society with ceaseless fighting between man and woman.”
They also complained about the background of the U.S.-based Iranian filmmaker Asadollah Niknejad, the director of the project.
The committee threatened to impeach the culture minister over the plan for making the film. However, they compromised on making “Laleh” in early October after the supporters of the film agreed to make some slight modifications in the screenplay.
The cost of the film has been estimated at about 80 billion rials (about $2.5 million).
MMS/YAW
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