Contentious Iranian film pulled out of Bangkok film festival

Bangkok, Jun 27 (UNI) An internationally acclaimed film depicting the social transformation in Iran after the Islamic revolution has been pulled out of Bangkok International Film Festival to be held next month on the request of the Iranian government.

Festival organiser Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said it had agreed to the request from the Iranian embassy here for the sake of good bilateral relations between the countries.

The animated film 'Persepolis' directed by Paris-based Iranian Marjane Satrapi and French artist Vincent Paronnaud won a Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival last month.

The film has looked at the radical transformation in Iranian society after the revolution through the eyes of a young girl growing up in that period.

''We asked the organisers to take this film out because it represented a negative image of Iran. It might be harmful to the Kingdom because many Iranian citizens had been living in Thailand.

We wanted to create a good image of our nation,'' an unnamed Iranian embassy diplomat told The Nation daily.

UNI