Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 76th Locarno Film Festival with his latest feature Critical Zone (Mantagheye Bohrani).
24.07.2023 - 09:25 / variety.com
Naman Ramachandran Ali Ahmadzadeh, director of Locarno competition title “Critical Zone,” is under threat from Iran’s ministry of security. The film, shot without Iranian authorities’ permission before the “Woman, Life, Freedom” revolution in Iran, is billed as an artistic reflection on the anger and the rage of the young generation of Iranians. “Guided by the voice of his GPS, Amir navigates the underworld districts of Tehran to comfort the troubled souls of the night,” reads the film’s description in the Locarno program. “Instead of actors, I worked with real people. In most situations, we had to hide the camera or find complicated tricks to work around the limitations. Making this film was a big rebellion. Showing it means an even bigger victory for us,” Ahmadzadeh said in his director’s statement.
Ahmadzadeh has been under pressure from the security service to show them the film and pull it from Locarno, the filmmakers said, adding that the director has been blocked from getting a visa and banned from leaving Iran by the Iranian authorities. Sales agent Luxbox and the producer, Sina Ataeian Dena, have received threatening emails and messages demanding to pull out the film. Dena said: “The new technique is that an interrogator is investigating him day and night, constantly via text messages, while he receives threats from anonymous sources and all kinds of attacks and surreal accusations… that the film is a porn, the actresses of the film are taken as hostages in a villa by the Caspian sea and so on.” The film is due to premiere on Aug. 10. Dena added: “Ali is under constant psychological torture and we belive that making all these public might create a bit of protection for him. According to what we predicted and
Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 76th Locarno Film Festival with his latest feature Critical Zone (Mantagheye Bohrani).
Marta Balaga The hype is real: Ali Ahmadzadeh’s “Critical Zone” (“Mantagheye bohrani”) has picked up the top Golden Leopard at Locarno. It has been a bumpy ride for the film, set in Tehran over the course of one lonely night and described by the fest as “a hymn to freedom and resistance.” As reported by Variety, Iranian authorities have been pressuring Ahmadzadeh to pull it from the Swiss festival – arguing it was shot without permission – and with the director himself banned from leaving the country. “Instead of actors, I worked with real people.
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Filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh is under pressure from Iranian authorities to pull his latest feature Critical Zone from Locarno’s Main Competition after he was summoned to the country’s Ministry of Security.
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