Iranian director Ebrahim Hatamikia received two awards at the 36th International Fajr Film Festival, which was held in Tehran, but unfortunately ‘Best Film Celebrating War Crimes” was not a category or he’d have gotten the hat trick.
This film, called Damascus Time, tells the completely untrue story of Iranian fighters in Syria defending religious shrines and rescuing the Syrian people from ISIS. Just to confirm, the Iranian Regime is no Oscar Schindler; they’re the Nazis
The awards came from the IRGC and Major General Qasem Soleiman, who are both internationally sanctioned for human rights abuses, but other high-ranking members of the Regime also sung its praises, like Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the man who has to constantly defend Iran’s malign actions in Syria.
The movie was made with financial support from Owj Arts and Media Organization, who fund the production of many films and TV series in Iran. But where does Owj get its money? The IRGC. In essence, this is a government-produced propaganda film, much like Baptism by Fire or The Eternal Jew.
Filmmaker Bahram Tavakoli, who also received funding from Owj for his films, said there was no independent cinema in Iran, while IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari even praised Hatamikia’s allegiance to the Regime and said that the IRGC had to support those promoting jihad in their media.
So why would Iran want to make these films?
Well simply, the Iranian Regime and the IRGC know that it must make itself look better in the eyes of the public.
After all, this is a Regime that has intervened in the Syrian Civil War to prop up a dictator for seven years. In that time, they’ve helped bomb hospitals and schools, prevented civilians from leaving, encouraged the use of chemical weapons, sent numerous terrorist cells into Syria, and recruited for these forces from refugees desperate for asylum and children under the age of 15.
That doesn’t even begin to cover the horrific human rights abuses experienced by the Iranian people, which includes, but is not limited to, arbitrary arrests, torture, the persecution of women, minorities, and political opponents.
Right now, the Iranian people are taking part in a nationwide protest campaign against the Iranian Regime and the Regime probably think that films like these will quell the protests. They are wrong. The Iranian people will continue to rise up against the Regime, no matter what propaganda the Regime churns out.
