New book: ‘Music, Culture and Conflict in Mali’
Freemuse are pleased to announce the publication of our first book, ‘Music, Culture and Conflict in Mali’, which is launched in a digital and on-demand paperback edition on 21 May 2013. “Essential reading for anyone who has been touched by Saharan music. It gives a clear and gripping picture of what it’s like to live [...]
Lebanon: Award-winning film banned for being shot in Israel
Lebanese authorities have banned the award-winning film ‘The Attack’ from cinemas in the country because it was partly shot in Tel Aviv using Israeli actors. “I regret to inform you that the Interior Minister of Lebanon, Minister (Marwan) Charbel, has decided to punish us and the film by banning it… claiming that the reason for [...]
China: American western pulled from screens on its opening day
Following an announcement that the Beijing International Film Festival and cinemas across the country would be screening ‘Django Unchained’ for select audiences, Chinese authorities banned the American movie from release and interrupted the film during its first screening. On 11 April 2013, cinemas across the country had to abruptly cancel the screening of Quentin Tarantino’s [...]
India: Ministry organises festival of censored movies
An ‘Cut Uncut film festival’ is organised by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the end of April 2013. It will screen films which had been rated adult by the censor board, ministry officials announced. The film festival will run over three days as part of Centenary Film Festival, which is held from [...]
Vietnam: Film censorship upsets and confuses film producers
Producing movies on a big budget in Vietnam is risky because the regulations on censorship are general and vague. Vietnamese film makers keep feeling the “fear” of the censorship scissors, reported VietNamNet Bridge. The movie ‘Cho Lon’s Gangsters’ was suspended and may be banned from screening in local cinemas if the producers do not make [...]
Azerbaijan: Local authorities shut down human rights film festival
Freemuse received the following press release from Baku on 9 April 2013: The Art for Democracy campaign condemns recent actions by local authorities to shut down a human rights film festival in Lankaran. This incident constitutes a violation of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly and highlights local authorities’ disrespect for human rights. [...]
India: Film about Punjab terrorism banned
The controversial film ‘Sadda Haq’, based on Punjab terrorism, has been banned by the Punjab government on the grounds that it will disturb communal harmony. Producers want the government to reconsider the ban. Also, the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejinder Khanna issued a ban order, prohibiting the release of the film in the capital Delhi, invoking Section [...]
Cameroon: Young filmmaker threatened, abducted and disappeared
Freemuse received news on 28 March 2013 that filmmaker Richard Fouofie Djimeli was abducted on 24 March in his house because of a film he has produced which is a homage to all those that lost their life trying to defend and assure the freedom of expression. Six of the film’s actors received death threats. [...]
Kashmir, India: Filmmakers harassed, writers speak out
Though there have been several documentaries on Kashmir, including Jashn-e-Azadi by Sanjay Kak, filmmakers aren’t allowed to work there freely. They have to shoot with low profile and hide the cameras in robes or luggage. Otherwise, they may have their footage deleted and the work halted by the civil and military authorities, reported Kashmir Media [...]
Belarus: Feature film about repression and censorship
A unique film about the arbitrary repression in Belarus was screened in Stockholm on 20 March 2013. Unique because it dramatises the suppression in a way which for instance a documentary would not be able to. The film’s title is the Belarusian opposition slogan. It’s called ‘Viva Belarus!’ and is about the young rock musician [...]
Iran: Passport of Swedish-Iranian actress confiscated by police
The Iranian actress Maryam Moghaddam, who lives in Sweden and who participated in the controversial film ‘Closed Curtain’, remains stuck in Iran after she received a travel ban and her passport was confiscated by Iranian police. Maryam Moghaddam traveled from Sweden to Iran to visit her mother in a family matter in early March 2013, [...]
Australia: Ban of gay film appealed on YouTube
Actor James Franco launched an online appeal on YouTube, speaking directly to the Australian Classification Board after censors banned a gay film, ‘I Want Your Love’, from screening in Australia. His appeal has been viewed almost 80,000 times during its first six days on YouTube. “Frankly, adults should be able to choose, they’re not going [...]
China: Differences between censorship of film, tv and literature
In China, a film could be banned for 20 years, while the novel on which the film is based, sells briskly throughout that same period without any interference from the state censors. How come? Why is the Cultural Revolution and other sensitive topics regularly discussed in print but remain off-limits on film? Yu Hua, the [...]
India: 256 movies banned in the last decade
The objections raised by the Central Board of Film Certification on these 256 films suggests that there are no specific guidelines on censoring movies in India. And on most of the occasions the victims of an irregular censoring process are the films that do not adhere to the mainstream narrative, wrote Soumik Mukherjee in an [...]
Azerbaijan: Rapper arrested, allegedly for song criticising police
“We strongly condemn the detention and harassment of popular Azerbaijani rapper Said Aliyev, also known as Dado, and consider this action as unlawful interference with his right to freedom of expression,” wrote The Art for Democracy campaign in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on 4 March 2013. On 27 February 2013, Said Aliyev was called [...]
Israel: “Censorship minister” wants filmmakers to exercise self-censorship
On 26 February 2013, the Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat called on Israeli filmmakers to exercise “self-censorship” and refrain from producing movies that cast aspersions on Israel and “libel it throughout the world.” In response, this brought out an editorial in Haaretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, which labeled Limor Livnat as “The censorship [...]
Iran complains: Berlin awards movie made in defiance of 20-year ban
Iranian authorities logged a protest with the Berlin International Film Festival for giving its Best Screenplay Award Silver Bear to Iranian film director Jafar Panahi and co-director Kamboziya Partovi for their film ‘Closed Curtain’, according to a report from one of the country’s leading news agencies. Jafar Panahi was unable to attend the award ceremony [...]
India: Major media attention on lack of artistic freedom of speech
India has been enthralled in what Salman Rushdie called a ‘cultural emergency’, with writers and artists harassed for opinions. “In India today, it seems, free speech is itself an atrocity,” wrote Suketu Mehta in New York Times on 5 February 2013: “Writers and artists of all kinds are being harassed, sued and arrested for what [...]
Syria: Actor Aiman Zidan threatened with death by hanging
A home page of one of the Syrian opposition groups has a picture of one of Syria’s most renowned and respected actors, Aiman Zidan, along with a text: “The thing is out of the hands of the FSA. It is with the Al-Nusra front now. By God’s name, we will hang you in Kafirsosa Square!” [...]
Iran: Censorship kills cinema, says acclaimed Iranian film director
“Censorship kills cinema. Sometimes a little pressure gives filmmakers more energy to fight it. But strangulate them and they will die. That’s why many Iranian filmmakers are not able to make films there now,” said the Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf at the open forum ‘Censorship in Cinema’ at the Kochi International Film Festival in [...]
China: Open letter against film censorship rules
In an open letter to the Chinese authorities, the award-winning film director Xie Fei accuses his country’s censorship rules of ‘killing artistic exploration’. He urges the Chinese censors to give clearer rules on banned topics. It “has only become a corrupt black spot for controlling the prosperity of the cultural and entertainment industry, killing artistic [...]
China: ‘Gangnam for Freedom’ – Solidarity dance videos flourish
Ai Weiwei’s censored parody of the famous South Korean music video ‘Gangnam Style’ has created a special Internet trend: solidarity dance videos In October 2012, China’s best-known dissident artist Ai Weiwei presented a music video on the net, ‘Ai Weiwei does gangnam style’, dancing with handcuffs to symbolise Beijing’s efforts to silence him, which was [...]
Exiled Syrian film producer and cartoonist honoured with award
Exiled Syrians film producer Orwa Nyrabia and political cartoonist Ali Farzat were smiling and making jokes in Copenhagen with good reason. They each received the Danish Poul Lauritzen human rights award and 10,000 euros each for their work on human rights and political freedom in Syria. With the ongoing violence in Syria, the PL Foundation [...]
Syrian film removed from Egyptian film festival
Official sources at the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), which launched on 27 November 2012, said that the Syrian film ‘El Asheq’ (The Lover) was disqualified from the festival’s competition because of the lead actor’s and director’s support for Syria’s current ruler Bashar El-Assad. Syrian film director Abdul Hamid’s ‘El Asheq’ was supposed to had [...]
Iranian film director and human rights lawyer awarded by EU
The European Parliament’s ‘Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2012’ goes to two Iranians as joint winners: the imprisoned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film director Jafar Panahi. Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi will be awarded and receive 50,000 euro on 12 December 2012 during a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The Sakharov Prize [...]
Egypt: Film team received death threats before release
After many battles with the Egyptian authorities over its release, the film ‘Al-Molhid’ (The Atheist) was passed by the Egyptian censorship committee without any scenes being removed, but the team behind the film has been receiving death threats from radicals in the country. Film producer Adham Afifi told Egyptian media that the film team has [...]
China: Blocked videos and independent films
China’s best-known dissident artist Ai Weiwei’s parodic ‘Gangnam Style’ video was blocked by Chinese authorities within 24 hours after it was uploaded to China’s video sharing site Tuduo on 24 October 2012. The original ‘Gangnam Style’ music video by South Korean artist Psy featuring his infamous horse-riding dance is the Guinness World Record holder for [...]
Lebanon: Censored film director initiates legal case against the state
All three of Lebanese director Danielle Arbid’s films have been banned in her native Lebanon. She has initiated a legal case against censorship and the Lebanese state – the first trial of its kind. “This is in motion. If we win, this will help other directors and artists to be more conscious of their rights. [...]
Egypt: Row over song which allegedly insults Islam
On 1 November 2012, Egypt’s Ministry of Culture censored a scene with a song in a popular new film, after Islamists claimed the song insulted Islam, reported Egypt Independent and Al Bawaba. The film ‘Abdu Mouta’ which is playing in cinemas across Egypt, recorded the highest one-day revenue in the history of Egyptian cinema, making [...]
Nepal: Indian Bollywood film screening stopped for “spreading hatred”
A radical faction of Nepal‘s ruling Maoist party has forced through that cinemas in Nepal may not show Indian Bollywood film. The decision to ban the films does not come from the government but from a political party. It is being implemented even so, because the radical faction of the ruling Unified Communist Party of [...]
Egypt: Censorship committee’s film script edits rejected
Director and screenwriter Amr Salama called for support from the film and journalism communities after censorship committee had rejected his latest script for a film about religious discrimination. Egypt’s Minister of culture then came forward with a promise that the film can be made without changes. Amr Salama told the Egyptian press that his film [...]
‘Innocence of Muslims’: A new argument for censorship?
The distribution of an older American video newly dubbed into Arabic, ‘Innocence of Muslims’, has put discussions over freedom of speech and censorship high on the agenda in societies around the world. The film sparked violent protests in mid-September 2012, with a wave of retaliatory attacks on US and other Western embassies around the world. [...]
Syria: Documentary filmmaker disappeared in airport
Orwa Nyrabia, an independent documentary filmmaker and co-founder of the Damascus-based international documentary festival ‘DOX BOX’, was arrested by the Syrian military as part of a crackdown on pro-democracy artists and intellectuals. Orwa Nyrabia disappeared on 23 August 2012 before boarding an airplane to Cairo. His wife, Diana El-Jeiroudi, was informed that he never boarded [...]
India: Film based on Salman Rushdie book not to be screened
Indian-born filmmaker Deepa Metha’s latest film, ‘Midnight’s Children’, may never be available to Indian audiences because of the Indian government’s aversion to the film. No outright ban of the film is currently in place. Instead, distributors allegedly fear soft reprisals and are avoiding the title. The film had its debut at the Toronto International Film [...]
Palestine: Film festival crumbles under the weight of censorship
The international film festival ‘Through Women’s Eyes’ is held every two years and crumbles under the weight of censorship, reported SK Eyes Media on 30 August 2012. “Not only do the censors target this festival, they also view all movies screened during any public gatherings and other festivals in the Gaza Strip, causing great harm [...]
Afghanistan: Death threats force Afghan actress into hiding
21-year-old actress Sahar Parniyan says she is living a nightmare after a fellow actress, Benafsha, was murdered by unknown men during the Eid celebrations in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. Sahar Parniyan used to perform in Afghan drama serials and tv shows together with 22-year-old Benafsha. Khaama Press reported that she has changed her home address from [...]
Afghanistan: 22-year-old tv actress murdered
On 20 August 2012, Benafsha, a 22-year-old tv actress, was stabbed to death as she was going to a bakery in the western part the capital Kabul. It was said that the roles Benafsha played in tv series were considered to be “against Islamic values and moralities” Benafsha was killed right after she had participated [...]
Iran: Editing the West out of Western films
After failing to keep films away from culture-loving Iranians, the Islamic Republic is trying some new, if clunky, techniques for editing the West out of Western entertainment, reported Max Fisher, associate editor of The Atlantic, on 8 August 2012. The Iranian film fan site CaffeCinema.com put together a series of side-by-side comparisons showing the before-and-after [...]
Iran: Unlicensed film centre closed, two persons arrested
The Tehran police closed and sealed an unlicensed film centre and arrested two people, reported Small Media. According to the authorities, this centre was where “obscene films were copied, distributed and played”. Following the raid, the police announced that they had identified nine more artists affiliated with the centre and found 20,000 illegal films on [...]
Iran: National Cinema Day removed from the Iranian calendar
‘National Cinema Day’, held annually in Iran on 12 September for the past 13 years, has been removed from the Iranian calendar, reported the Iranian Students’ News Agency via Small Media in London. Mansoor Vaezi, the Secretary of the Public Culture Council, claimed that the omission was due to the Iranian calendar becoming too “overloaded”, [...]
China: Increased control on music publishing in Tibet
New measures by Chinese authorities involve significantly increased controls in the Tibetan music publishing, reported Human Rights Watch on 13 July 2012. In the lead-up to the 18th Party Congress, due to take place in late 2012, restrictions on news, media, and communications in Tibet have been stepped up by Chinese authorities. The measures also [...]
Lebanon: Youtube-series to tackle the thorny issue of censorship
A new Lebanese web-series, ‘MAMNOU3’, was launched on 1 July 2012. The series is a mockumentary account of what goes down in one of Lebanon’s most infamous administrative departments, the General Security’s censorship bureau. “At first sight it does seem that Lebanon has enjoyed wider freedoms than the rest of the Arab world. In reality, [...]
Ai Weiwei in new documentary film: ‘State censorship fuels my art’
A new documentary film, ‘Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry’, portrays China’s most iconic artist and activist. It was shown at the opening night gala of Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, which took place in Toronto, Canada, in May 2012, and it was reviewed with superlatives such as ‘powerful’, ‘essential’, ‘provocative’ and ‘stunning’. American filmmaker [...]
Iran: Travel ban on film director
In the past two years, the Iranian government has moved from merely banning films – most of which were allowed to be released internationally – to arresting actors and filmmakers, reported PressPlay. Jafar Panahi is the highest-profile director to suffer such treatment. A harsh legislative decision banned the Iranian director from filmmaking and travelling for [...]
Saudi Arabia: Movie theatres are still banned, but the film business is moving on
Although Saudi Arabia has 27 million inhabitants, there is not a single movie theatre in the kingdom. Movie theatres were banned in the 1980’s in order to appease conservative clerics. The following is an introduction to the film business in the country today. First “all-Saudi” film Haifaa Al Mansour has directed one of the first [...]
Egypt: New film censorship law drafted
A draft law is being prepared by the Egyptian parliament’s Religious Affairs Committee aimed at criminalising production of sexually explicit content by local media companies, flagship state daily Al-Ahram reported on 26 April 2012. Conservative Islamists in Egypt’s parliament are reportedly pushing for a cinema censorship law calling for cuts in Egyptian films of all [...]
Awarded Iranian film director speaks about censorship and restriction
In a video interview with Euronews in Cannes, film director Asghar Farhadi talks about the current restraints on Iranian film-makers. In February 2012, Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi’s film ‘Separation’ won two Oscar nominations and took the award for Best Foreign Language film, the first Iranian movie to win the honour. And in Cannes in [...]
Spanish artist facing prison for ‘cooking crucifix’ film
Leading Spanish artist Javier Krahe faces up to a year in prison after being prosecuted for “offending religious feelings”. Appearing in court in Madrid, Javier Krahe said he would go into exile in France if found guilty. He faces a possible fine of 144,000 euros. In a parody on the resurrection of Christ, [...]
Filmmakers in prison
FILMMAKERS IN PRISON is an initiative of the German Film Academy, which is committed to politically persecuted filmmakers. Below is a link to a mini movie which contains excerpts from the following movies: • ‘The Baader Meinhof Complex’ by Uli Edel • ‘The Experiment’ by Oliver Hirschbiegel • ‘Picco’ by Philip Koch • ‘Salvador – [...]
Syria: Ban on tv-series and films about homosexuality
An article in Al-Akhbar explains about the censorship of tv-series and films about lesbians, such as the television series ‘Behind Bars’ and the new short film, ‘A Lesbian Tale’. In an interview with Al-Akhbar, director Muhammad Khair Diab explains about his new short film titled ‘A Lesbian Tale’ which is a love story between two [...]
Indonesia: The film ‘Heart of Jakarta’ banned by university officials
A student group at Diponegoro University, Kronik Filmedia, was banned from screening ‘Sanubari Jakarta’ (‘Heart of Jakarta’) on campus. Officials banned the film, which previously passed muster at the Film Censorship Board and screened in movie theaters, for discussing the taboo-topics of ethnicity, religion, race and inter-group issues. “We have tried to persuade the rectorate [...]
Tunisia: Owner of tv-station fined for airing film which depicts Allah
On 7 October 2011, the film Iranian ‘Persepolis’ was shown on the Tunisian private television station Nessma TV. The film includes a scene depicting Allah, whose portrayal is forbidden by Islam. On 3 May 2012, the owner of Nessma TV was fined US$ 1,700 for the airing of the film. On 8 October 2011, a [...]
Myanmar/Burma: Comedy film about censorship awarded
An 18-minute comedy film, ‘Ban That Scene!’, makes a daring mockery of Burma’s dreaded film censorship board. It was first shown in Rangoon in January 2012 during a film festival titled ‘Art of Freedom’, where it was awarded with the top prize. The film festival ‘Art of Freedom’ was hosted by opposition leader Aung San [...]
India: Interview with censored film director
“They are a puritan lot, divorced from today’s liberal society and afraid to face reality,” fumes Indian filmmaker Ashvin Kumar about the Censor Board, as he recalls getting into trouble with the board for several of his films including ‘Inshallah Football’, ‘Dazed in Doon’ and ‘Inshallah Kashmir’. But not the one to give in, Ashvin [...]
Egyptian court upholds comic actor’s prison sentence
A court in Egypt has upheld the three-month prison sentence given to leading comic actor Adel Imam for insulting Islam in his films and plays, reported BBC News on 25 April 2012. 71-year-old actor Adel Imam was also fined 170 US dollars by the court in the capital, Cairo. The case brought against Adel Imam [...]
Singapore: American film not to be released because of censorship
American director Steve McQueen’s film ‘Shame’ about a sex addict in New York, played by Michael Fassbender, will not be shown in Singapore because McQueen does not approve of censors’ demand that certain scenes have to be cut. In particular, a graphic threesome involving Fassbender’s protagonist Brandon Sullivan and two women offended the authorities. Even [...]
Myanmar/Burma: Filmfestival about censorship: ‘The Art of Freedom’
The Art of Freedom film festival in January 2012 was a first in Burma, pushing the limits of expression, and screening a wide range of films that were uncensored and critical of the former military regime that ruled the country for decades. The Guardian newspaper described the scene at the festival as a daring bid [...]
Lebanon: Protest against increased censorship
In light of the notable increase in censorship in Lebanon over the last year, a number of musicians, performers, filmmakers and comedians decided to put on a show at Metro al-Madina in Beirut on 15 March 2012, entitled ‘I am Free’. The event brought together popular artists such as the Lebanese producer and musician Zeid [...]
Study on censorship in Lebanon: law and practice
This study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of censorship in Lebanon. The publishers hope “it will allow the many local artistic and cultural actors the opportunity to lobby for the most appropriate legislative amendments to the current censorship regulations which are currently not conducive to their work.” The study provides an extended definition of [...]
