Iran’s Reza Dormishian was banned from traveling to India’s International Film Festival for supporting protests

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian, produced by Dariush Mehrjuis A small onewhich has its world premiere in competition at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, has not received an exit permit from Iran and is therefore unable to attend the event.

Dormishian’s passport was confiscated at the airport and he was referred to an Iranian court for prosecution. During the current nationwide protests in Iran, Dormishian shared posts on his Instagram account to show his support for the protesters.

Dormishian was born in Tehran in 1981 and is a screenwriter, director, documentary filmmaker and producer To hate, I’m not angry!, A small one and No choice, which was screened at major film festivals and won several awards. His films often criticized aspects of Iranian society and faced heavy censorship and prolonged bans in his home country. white chairswhich he directed and produced in 2017, was filmed in New Zealand.

Mehrjui’s debut film The Cow (1969) was one of the first Iranian films to be screened at international film festivals. A small one is the 27th film directed by Mehrjui, whose credits are also included hamun, Santouri, mother’s guest, Leila and The pear tree. Mehrjui’s films have traveled to festivals such as Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Tokyo and San Sebastian.

Dormishian made his feature film debut To hate 2011 in Istanbul/Turkey, directing work has since been included I’m not angry!, Lantouri, white chairs and No choice. His films have been screened at festivals such as Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw, Mar del Plata, Shanghai, Montreal, Vancouver and Istanbul.

Several famous Iranian actors, including Navid Mohammadzadeh, Bahram Afshari, Mehdi Koushki and Reza Koolghani, had their breakthrough roles in Dormishian’s films.

As an international jury member, Dormishian has also participated in festivals such as Warsaw in Poland, Pune in India and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq. He has also worked with Mehrjui on films including Orange suit and Good to be back.