Cinema Industry In Transition
In the 1990s several Iranian films--those we may describe as belonging to the new wave of Iranian cinema--caught the attention of cineastes throughout the world. At that time, a number of Iranian producers, film critics and directors berated those films as simplistic works which present a primitive image of Iran and have nothing to do with the current mostly urbanized Iranian society.
Their skeptical view about these films was occasionally based on global response, but generally came out of their personal preferences and occasionally bad intentions. In fact, the success of those series of films was partially due to their visual language and simple expressions that could easily communicate with foreign audience irrespective of their cultures and languages.
Films like ’Through the Olive Trees’, ’White Balloon’, ’Children of Heaven’, etc. represented a humanistic and intimate outlook and were welcomed by the international audience. They made use of restricted finances, the least facilities, mainly without professional actors/actresses and adopted a minimalist approach.
Aesthetic dimensions and evaluation of these films demand comprehensive discussions which are beyond the scope of this article, but they truly changed some neutral or negative ideas on Iran and Iranians.
In the same decade a new type of Iranian commercial movies was released which relied on attractive young actors/actresses to lure a large crowd of particularly youth audiences. There is no argument against films which may attract large audiences and score huge box office success, since economic success of movies helps the cinema industry to roll on. But it’s amazing that after many years, various commercial film producers, some critical of Iranian minimalist art films have tended to a semi-minimalist practice of their own. Given that in recent years costs of film production have gone up, the new challenge has obliged these producers to cut expenses, limit outdoor locations and expediting the shooting process to reduce production time and of course budget.
Nonetheless, this problem pertains to the entire Iranian cinema which has even troubled commercial films, let alone independent art films. On the other hand, it’s absolutely necessary that various institutions including Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry’s Cinema Affairs Division and IRIB contribute to remove the obstacles to Iranian film production and distribution. Otherwise, everyone must be prepared for the influx of cheap commercial movies which will undermine the achievements of the new wave of Iranian cinema.
