In Iran, new movies boost wobbly film sector
By Jason Rezaian,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-iran-new-movies-boost-wobbly-film-sector/2012/12/25/26e4306a-49dc-11e2-8af9-9b50cb4605a7_story.html?wprss=rss_social-world-headlinesTEHRAN — Iran's acclaimed movie industry is the latest sector to suffer the effects of economic sanctions over the country's uranium enrichment program. But as filmmakers warn that they might pause production due to lagging funds, two controversial new releases are breathing life into the domestic cinema scene.
At the close of a year in which increased ticket prices caused a 40 percent drop in cinema attendance, the movies "Facing Mirrors" and "I Am a Mother" are driving a spike in box office sales. And their provocative protagonists — a transsexual in the first, and nouveau riche characters who drink alcohol and adopt other taboo behaviors in the second — are causing a wider debate on cinema in the Islamic republic.
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"Facing Mirrors" follows a female-to-male transsexual who is picked up by a female taxi driver who is trying to earn money to pay for her husband's release from debtors' prison. Adineh, the transsexual, has run away from home because her father has arranged a marriage for her, believing the union will solve the family's "curse."
The success of the films — and their subjects — have buoyed some Iranian filmgoers.
"I almost cried," said Mahsa, a 24-year-old male-to-female transsexual who declined to give her full name, after seeing "Facing Mirrors." "It can help parents understand that there are other kids that have these issues besides their own. I hope my parents go see it, too."
