21 May 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Film-maker Jafar Panahi has been imprisoned in Iran since 1 March after the government accused him of making a documentary about last year’s presidential election. He was to be on the Palme d’Or judging panel at the Cannes film festival this week where fellow Iranian film-maker, Abbas Kiarostami, called his arrest an “attack on art” and launched an appeal for his release on 18 May. Panahi has reportedly begun a hunger strike until he is allowed to meet with a lawyer, see his family and be released.
21 Jul 09 | Index Index, minipost
Saudi Arabia’s only film festival was cancelled at the last hour after apparent religious pressure within the highly conservative Islamic kingdom. The Jeddah film festival, which was scheduled to open on Saturday had planned to be a rare showcase for movie-makers in Saudi Arabia, a country where cinemas were banned for almost three decades. Read more here
02 Jul 09 | Index Index, minipost
Councillors in Glasgow have lifted an unofficial 30-year-old ban on the Monty Python film The Life of Brian. The council’s licensing and regulatory committee approved a request on Tuesday from Glasgow Film Theatre to show the biblical satire under a 15 certificate. Read more here
15 Jun 09 | Index Index, minipost
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have said that controversial Lars von Trier film, Antichrist, will be released uncut, as an 18 certificate version in the UK, despite scenes featuring erect penises, violent sex and genital mutilation. Read more here
