.jpg "Milad Keymaram acts in a scene from “The Queen”.")
TEHRAN -- All box office receipts for “The Queen”, a drama about the early days of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, will be donated to the quake victims in East Azarbaijan Province, the producer announced on Tuesday.
“The screening of the film has coincided with the bitter cold in the quake-stricken regions in East Azarbaijan,” Hamed Hosseini said in press release.
“Thus, all people and the Farabi Cinematic Foundation, which are involved in the production of the film, decided to donate all box office receipts for the movie to the quake victims,” he added.
The story of “The Queen” is set in the southwestern Iranian city of Abadan during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. An Iranian soldier hides in the Abadan Oil Refinery to reconnoiter the Iraqi forces.
The Iranian premiere of the film will begin on December 5.
The film was screened at several theaters in late September in Tabriz, the provincial capital of East Azarbaijan, and some quake-stricken regions, Hosseini said.
“The people of the regions are living under bad conditions at that time. Obviously, they need officials, people and artists to help them more than before,” he added.
Two large quakes hit regions in East Azarbaijan on August 11. At least 12 villages were totally leveled by the quakes, which killed 306 people. 425 other villages also sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 percent.
“The Queen” was in the lineup, from which Iran’s submission for the 2013 Academy Awards was selected. However, Iran is boycotting the Oscars over the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims”.
Certain people have criticized the film and consider it as an “anti-war” movie, which challenges Iran’s official outlook on the Iran-Iraq war.
“I have said elsewhere and will it repeat again: I love Iran and I have no plan for subverting (the ruling system),” director Basheh-Ahangar had previously said.
He added that people dislike films that portray certain aspects of war, and consequently, they criticize these productions and label the film “anti-war”.
MMS/YAW
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