Iranian producer Elaheh Nobakht, whose credits include “Dream’s Gate,” the doc depicting an all-female Kurdish militia that launched earlier this year from Berlin, has been banned by Iranian authorities from traveling outside the country.
Nobakht – who is a board member of the Iranian Producers Association (IPA) and of the Iranian documentary Producer Association (AOIDP) – was stopped by security guards in early August upon re-entering Iran from a film presentation in Portugal at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport. The guards confiscated her passport, laptop and mobile phone, according to a knowledgeable source. No reason has been given for this action.
Due to the travel ban Nobakht has been unable to travel from Iran toArmenia’s Apricot Tree Film Festival, where she had been selected to serve as a member of the jury, and to Spain’s San Sebastian fest. Nobakht, who is a fixture on the international film festival circuit, had been invited to San Sebastian to present new projects in the pipeline at her Tehran-based Eli Image production and distribution company. The ban has also prevented her from attending a co-production workshop in Turkey.
Besides Negin Ahmadi’s“Dream’s Gate” other recent Eli Image productions include Farnaz Jurabchian and Mohammadreza Jurabchian’s doc “Silent House,” on the impact of the 1979 revolution on three generations of an upper-middle-class Iranian family, which launched last year from Amsterdam’s IDFA fest; and Mahmoud Ghaffari’s “The Apple Day,” about the economic hardships of an Iranian family in a mountain village that bowed in February from Berlin.
News of Nobakht’s travel ban surfaced Friday, on the same day of the announcement that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, who is currently imprisoned for advocating for women’s rights in the country.
Human rights efforts in Iran have long been an urgent issue in the entertainment industry, with filmmakers hailing from the country raising their voices about the oppression being endured. Last week Iranian directorJafar Panahiwrote an impassioned plea demanding that his set designer, Leila Naghdipari, be released from jail after she was arrested during protests marking the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death.
“Today, Iranian independent cinema is more that ever struggling to breathe under the boots of the security forces,” Panahi wrote, adding: “I’m worried about Leila and I’m worried about Iranian cinema.”
Naghdipari, who is a board member of the Iranian Film Designer Guild, was reportedly granted bail and released from jail on Oct. 2, following appeals from the Berlin Film Festival and many other international film institutions.
