VZCZCXRO2081
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHDIR #0052/01 2281426
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 161426Z AUG 07
FM IRAN RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0164
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDIR/IRAN RPO DUBAI 0157
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDHP/DIA DHP-1 WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0148
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0114

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000052 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR GAYLE, BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  8/16/2017 
TAGS: IR PGOV PREL SOCI SCUL
SUBJECT: USG-INVITED IRANIAN FILMMAKERS FACE REPRISALS 
 
RPO DUBAI 00000052  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Acting Director, Iran Regional 
Presence Office, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
1.(S/NF)  Summary: The Iranian government has been exerting 
pressure on some participants in the International Visitors 
Leadership Program (IVLP) for documentary filmmakers after their 
return to Iran.  One filmmaker who is a friend of a participant 
in the May/June 2007 IVLP program told IRPO that all seven of 
the participants in that program had their passports confiscated 
upon their return to Iran and face hearings at the Revolutionary 
Court within the next month.  They have been told they will not 
be allowed to travel outside Iran for a year, but the government 
is apparently not interfering with  their work.  It is important 
to note that this is the only IVLP group for Iran thus far that 
has faced any reprisals from the government upon their return. 
In related news, renowned Iranian filmmaker Kamran Shirdel 
issued a public refusal to attend an event (not sponsored by the 
USG) in the US honoring his work as a protest against USG 
policies toward Iran, including a likely reference to the IVLP 
program.  End summary. 
 
2.(S/NF) Iranian participants in the May/June 2007 State 
Department's International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) 
for documentary filmmakers have reportedly been subject to some 
government pressure and travel bans since their return to Iran, 
as reported by some of the participants by email to IRPoffs and 
a friend of one the participants (who is himself a documentary 
filmmaker).  The filmmakers had defied a warning from the 
Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry not to participate and 
traveled to the US for the USG-sponsored program.  Ministry 
officials indicated to the filmmakers their belief that the IVLP 
program was political, not cultural, in nature. 
 
3.(S/NF) Four of the IVLP participants returned from the US a 
few days ahead of the other three and had their passports 
confiscated.  They then warned the rest  but the other three 
chose to return to Iran nonetheless and also had their passports 
taken.  The friend who met with IRPoff August 15 said he 
suspected that one of the seven participants was a "spy" for the 
Iranian government, without offering a specific name. 
 
4.(S/NF) The IVLP participants have been called before the 
revolutionary court for hearings, with court dates set for 
sometime within the next month (mid-August to mid-September 
2007).  According to the friend, when the seven filmmakers 
attempted to travel to some European countries for film 
festivals, they were told that they will not be permitted to 
travel outside the country for one year.  The government has not 
otherwise interfered with the work of the IVLP participants 
since their return to Iran, according to the contact.  In emails 
from Iran, several participants have indicated to IRPoffs that 
they believe their problems will be resolved soon and that the 
benefits of the exchange outweigh the difficulties they are now 
facing. 
 
5.(C) There is apparently no general travel ban to the US for 
filmmakers.  Two filmmakers and an actor applied for visas to 
the US in the past two weeks - one, the friend cited above, who 
is screening his short documentary in a New York film 
festival,and another filmmaker and one of his actors  who are 
planning to screen their fiction film in California.  The actor 
alleged that the Culture and Islamic Guidance ministry had 
seized the film earlier this year when they intended to screen 
it in the US, but they appear to have received the ministry's 
permission to screen the film now and they plan to travel to the 
US for that purpose in the coming month.  The second filmmaker 
said he intends to invite some Americans involved in film to 
Iran on a cultural exchange, and the first filmmaker told IRPoff 
that he would like to make a documentary about applying for a US 
visa. 
 
6.(C) Comment:  Iranian government paranoia of a US-led "soft" 
revolution and crackdown on intellectual ties with the US means 
that cultural exchanges with Iran are likely to remain 
politicized.  It is important to note, however, that this is the 
only IVLP group for Iran thus far that has faced reprisals from 
the government upon return to Iran.  Separately, renowned 
Iranian filmmaker Kamran Shirdel made a veiled reference to USG 
cultural programs in his public refusal to attend a ceremony 
organized in his honor by the Asia Society in New York in 
October 2007 in protest of US policy.  Among other charges, he 
said,  the "secret programs of the US government which (they 
claim) are contrived to 'help' Iranian artists and intellectuals 
prove correct the theory that the United States does not want or 
 
RPO DUBAI 00000052  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
cannot permit other nations to choose, decide, and gain 
experience on their own, so it tries to subvert their values and 
ruin all their experiences."  As long as the Iranian government 
does not overtly ban participation in USG programs like the 
IVLP, however, at least some invitees are likely to continue to 
take the opportunity. 
BURNS