Iranian director under threat of death penalty

The female film director, Tahmineh Milani, one of the most celebrated Iranian film directors internationally, is facing the imminent threat of hanging. Milani was arrested in early spring of this year at the behest of the Revolutionary Committee of Iran whilst on a PR tour to promote her new film 'The Hidden Half'. She was subsequently released with a caution. Nevertheless, Milani is still facing a trial and, if found guilty, she runs the danger of the death penalty. «The Hidden Half», which Milani both wrote and produced, deals with the internal struggles inside Iran following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Milani, who represents feminists views both in her films and in her public utterances, is accused of inciting a war against God (or Allah) through her films and abusing art in order to lend sustenance to counterrevolutionary forces and armed opposition groups. The Revolutionary Committee has persecuted under the pretext of similar spurious accusations journalists and personalities from the world of the arts. This is the first episode of its kind, however, from the world of film. Film producers throughout the world have declared their solidarity Tahmineh Milani in a petition. Signatories to the petition, which can be found on the Internet, include prominent names such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ang Lee, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, Jamsheed Akrami, Hanif Kureishi and Oliver Stone, to name but a few. Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran, has personally voiced his support for Milani's release in exchange for a caution. In common with all films produced in Iran, «The Hidden Half» was subject to draconian censorship before the Ministry of Culture authorised its distribution in Iranian cinemas. Even the Iranian president found it «unfair» to be then arrested for the content of the film.