ALBAWABA - The 13th edition of the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) Film Festival has been canceled by Iranian authorities, following the appearance of a poster portraying an actress without a Hijab. The poster features Iranian actress Susan Taslimi in the 1982 film 'The Death of Yazdguerd'.
State Media Agency IRNA released a statement reading: “The culture minister has personally issued an order to ban the 13th edition of the ISFA film festival, after using a photo of a woman without a hijab on its poster in violation of the law,”.
The Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) made the decision after releasing a poster for its upcoming short-film festival starring Iranian actor Susan Taslimi in the 1982 film The Death of Yazdgerd.
The ISFA poster featuring Susan Taslimi
Since 1983, women in Iran have been required to wear a hijab as it has been imposed following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, recently, demonstrations took the country by storm as Iranian women protest against this obligatory dress code.
There have been protests opposing the state's obligatory mandate for women to wear the hijab with no regard for their personal choices. These protests were triggered by the unfortunate death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, while in the custody of the Iranian morality police. She was detained for supposedly violating the dress regulations and for "not wearing the hijab properly".
Iran's moral police have continued to crack down on women who do not adhere to the imposed dress code. Afsaneh Bayegan, 61, received a suspended two-year prison sentence last week for not wearing her hijab to a public gathering. Bayegan had also spoken out in favor of the protests sparked by Amini's killing.
During Cannes Film Festival, Mahlagha Jaberi, an Iranian-American model, wore a dress with a noose-style collar to draw attention to executions in Iran.
Jaberi said: "We wanted to make a fashion statement to observe the glamour of Cannes, but more importantly, to bring media attention to the wrongful executions of Iranian people. Unfortunately, political statements are not allowed at the film festival and the security stopped me from showing the back of my dress, but the 'noose' meaning was well understood".
