TEHRAN -- “Earth and Coral” director said that he has made the film to improve the image of Iran in Afghanistan.
“Most of the TV networks working in Afghanistan broadcast anti-Iranian films and programs. The networks are seeking a general plan to stain Iran’s name so it was vital to make the film,” Masud Atyabi said during a review session for his film in Tehran at the 31st Fajr International Film Festival.
The story of the film is set in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion of the country.
The film tells the story of a man, whose wife is kidnapped by the U.S. forces. However, he is told that his wife was killed in an explosion.
A few years later during the wedding ceremony of his daughter, the man sees a woman clad in a burka who kisses the bride and groom. She calls her little son to leave the ceremony. The man recognizes his wife from the voice. The man and the woman face a dilemma.
The screenwriter of the film, Pantea Tajbakhsh, said that Atyabi changed the screenplay.
“The rapist in my screenplay was a Taliban fighter not a U.S. soldier,” she noted.
“In my screenplay, there was only one reference to the U.S. troops who were respectfully inspecting cars at a checkpoint,” Tajbakhsh stated.
“Mr. Atyabi personally replaced the Taliban with the U.S. forces as a result, the coherence of the film was spoiled,” she added.
Atyabi said, “I changed the screenplay to illustrate living under the occupation. However, Ms. Tajbakhsh’s outlook on the issue was different.”
The editor of the film, Mastaneh Mohajer, said, “Ms. Tajbakhsh’s screenplay was a powerful love story. It was a rape of love, but when I took the dailies from Mr. Atyabi, I saw that the rape was in the upper strata of the film’s plot.”
The World Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has provided 51 percent of the budget of the film, producer Amir Parvin-Hosseini said.
The film was shot in Kabul with an all-Afghan cast.
MMS/YAW
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