Makhmalbaf says he travelled to Jerusalem film festival as 'ambassador for peace' and received a warm welcome
One of Iran's most famous film-makers, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a former revolutionary who spent four years in jail under the late shah's rule, has made headlines again after breaking a taboo by visiting Israel.
Makhmalbaf, who was invited by the Jerusalem film festival, said he went as "an ambassador for peace" to promote Iranian art in a country that has previously threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike against his homeland. His visit last week has stirred a heated debate among Iranians.
"I went there to take a message of peace," he told the Guardian. "I try to unite people through arts, I am citizen of cinema, and cinema has no border, and in fact before my journey to Israel my film travelled to that country many years before."
Makhmalbaf, a leading figure in Iranian cinema's new wave movement,...
One of Iran's most famous film-makers, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a former revolutionary who spent four years in jail under the late shah's rule, has made headlines again after breaking a taboo by visiting Israel.
Makhmalbaf, who was invited by the Jerusalem film festival, said he went as "an ambassador for peace" to promote Iranian art in a country that has previously threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike against his homeland. His visit last week has stirred a heated debate among Iranians.
"I went there to take a message of peace," he told the Guardian. "I try to unite people through arts, I am citizen of cinema, and cinema has no border, and in fact before my journey to Israel my film travelled to that country many years before."
Makhmalbaf, a leading figure in Iranian cinema's new wave movement,...
- 7/16/2013
- by Saeed Kamali Dehghan
- The Guardian - Film News
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