"Killer and Wild" (Ghatel va Vahshi) Removed from the list of approved films of the 39th Fajr Film Festival
Iran Wire Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Why was "Killer and Wild" removed from the 39th edition of the Fajr Film Festival?
"Killer and Wild", directed by Hamid Nematullah, was removed from the list of approved films of the 39th edition of Fajr Film Festival in Iran.
According to local news agencies in Iran, the main reason for excluding the film from the Iranian Fajr Film Festival is the leading actressLeila Hatami's shaved head and her exposed ears.
Nematullah’s latest movie was supposed to be screened at the 39th edition of the event.
In addition to these cases, the main theme of the film, which is about "sexual slavery", is one of the reasons why the security and cultural authorities in the Ministry of Guidance to order the removal and censorship of the film.
Bahman Babazadeh, a cinema and music journalist, wrote on Twitter: "One remembers the bitter and horrible days of the 1980s. 'Killer and Wild, Hamid Nematullah's latest film, which has been praised by critics these days, has been banned due to Leila Hatami's shaved head and the actresse's exposed ears, and it has been banned from showing at the Fajr Film Festival."
Dariush Memar, a poet and journalist, wrote sarcastically: "Removing #Killer_and_Savage from the festivals because of #Leila Hatami's ears! This is no longer vulgarity; it is misery! Why does no one come to cry collectively for the country! Where is the #Violet_Oil to throw it down our throats! Because of #Leila_Hatami_ears?! This is just another movie in itself!"
Earlier, a group of prominent artists, includingHedyeh Tehrani, Parviz Parastuie, Navid Mohammadzadeh and Hamed Behdad, supported the film and demanded that it not be banned and that the film be judged by the people and the audience at the festival.
According to the secretary of the 39th Fajr Film Festival, the judging of each of the applicant films in this edition of the festival is subject to obtaining a screening license, and this film (Killer and Wild) was one of those that did not receive a screening license, and therefore was not evaluated and judged by a jury.
Popular Iranian movie stars Leila Hatami, Amin Hayaei, Shahram Haghighatdoostand Setareh Eskandari appear in "Killer and Wild", and it is the famous Iranian singer Homayoun Shajarian's fourth collaboration withNematullah.
"Killer and Wild" is an Iranian movie in the horror and crime-mystery genre, with a screenplay by Masoumeh Bayatand Hamid Nematollah, produced in 2019.
Hamid Nematollah is an Iranian scriptwriter and director. He received a Diploma of Honor for the Best Screenplay for ‘Penniless’ (2008) from the Fajr International Film Festival.