At the end of the winter of 2010, an appreciation ceremony was held held at the House of Cinema in Tehran for those who had participated in the Berlin International Film Festival. During this ceremony Siroos Alvand, a well known Iranian director, went on stage to present a plaque to Farhadi in recognition of his contribution to social cinema. Alvand noted that Iran’s outstanding filmmakers are often pessimistic in their portrayals of Iranian society and life, but argued that in this film Farhadi showed that it was possible to find the true heart and epicentre of Iranian society without “giving the wrong directions.” He furthered, “I am proud to be Farhadi’s colleague.”46 Ayatollah Khamenei and other conservatives have often criticised Iranian filmmakers for being negativistic. Khamenei always says something about the negative portrayal of Iranian society in Iranian films in his meetings with artists and filmmakers, and he considers these to be providing the ‘enemy’ with another excuse to attack Iran: “these negative portrayals only serve to further promote hopelessness in Iranian society.”47 Following the 2009 presidential elections, the concept of ‘soft war’ (Persian: jang-e narm) became fashionable amongst conservatives. The conservatives’ vocal objection to negative portrayals of Iranian society in independent films is a prime example of the type of attacks made in the ‘soft war’ against independent cinema practitioners. The conservatives have 46. Green Voice, "Independent Cinema in Response to Ayatollah Khamenei," Iran Green Voice of Freedom, March 7, 2011, http://www.irangreenvoice.com/ article/2011/mar/07/11649. 47. Aftab, "Hopelessness in Iranian Society is a Consequence of Negative Portrayals in Our Cinema," Aftab News, July 3, 2010, http://www.aftabnews.ir/ vdcj88ev8uqeyiz.fsfu.html.
Cultural Censorship in Iran
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