[Reader-list] Students queuing up to watch Tahmineh Milani's film attacked by vigilantes.

[Harsh Kapoor]

www.iranmania.com
Tuesday, December 04, 2001

Assailants beat up students who wanted to watch film

Tuesday, December 04, 2001 - 2001 IranMania.com


©2001 CinemaIran.com
Photo/Ghogha Bayat
Tahmineh Milani Behind the scene of 'The Half Hidden'

IranMania.com, 04 DEC 01 - According to a report carried by the 
Iranian daily 'Toss-e', students in the city of Yazd who were queuing 
up to watch Tahmineh Milani's film 'Nimeyeh Penhan' (The Hidden 
Half), were attacked by a group of vigilantes.

The movie was being shown at the University Campus. Most of the 
assailants managed to escape arrest, and some of those caught were 
released on bail.

A representative of the cultural affairs events at the University was 
quoted as saying that the incident had started when four individual 
had posed as filmmakers and were filming the students. University 
officials alerted the police to stop the filming.

"No sooner had police been called to arrest them than several people 
riding motorbikes arrived on the scene and started beating up the 
students."

Tahmineh Milani was called up before the conservative courts after 
her film had already screened in the cinemas and had passed the 
censors. She was accused of "abusing the arts as a tool for actions 
which will suit the taste of counter-revolutionary and 'mohareb' (war 
against God) groups," IRNA said at the time.

At the time a culture ministry official was quoted as saying her 
arrest was based on a "misunderstanding which we are trying to 
resolve."

President Khatami defended Milani saying her arrest "shouldn't have 
happened". "Her film was authorized by the culture ministry and if 
there's a problem, it's the government and the minister who must 
respond," he said.

"I hope this problem will be resolved as soon as possible because 
these kinds of incidents can add to the insecurity in the world of 
culture and art," the reformist president said.

The film tells the story of a married woman who took part in 
political activities in her youth and who reminisces about a romantic 
affair with a cultural rebel after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
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