Category Archives: Censorship

After censorship, a jail sentence, and a 20-year prohibition from filmmaking, defiant director Mohammad Rasoulof returned to brave new work with "Manuscripts Don't Burn," a charged political thriller that draws on real events surrounding censorship and oppression in Iran. Kino Lorber has announced that it has picked up all US distribution rights to the work, which was a secret project until its arrival on the festival circuit at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

Filmed without federal permission (like his last film "Goodbye" in 2012), "Manuscripts Don't Burn" chronicles the story of Kasra, an Iranian author who confronts brutality and censorship when he tries to leave the country with his secretly-written memoirs. After screening at last year's Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival, it is now slated for a one-week theatrical premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in June. Later this year, Kino Lorber will release the film on VOD, home media, and the educational market.

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Kino Lorber Acquires Bold Iranian Drama 'Manuscripts Don't Burn'

BEIRUT: Regrettable as it is, its not really surprising that censorship of media, media activists and bloggers increases during periods of political tension. Less expected, perhaps, is the increase in incidents of cultural censorship.

The alarming security situation in 2013 had a negative impact on media and cultural freedom in Lebanon, writes Firas Talhouk in the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedoms annual report on press and cultural freedom in the Levant.

Released last month, SKeyes report recorded official bans on three films, a play and a foreign publication in 2013; two additional acts of cultural censorship resulted from pressure from unofficial bodies.

These statistics may not seem particularly high officers from General Securitys Censorship Bureau say they annually review roughly 300 films and plays for approval but they display a marked increase from 2012, when several films were partially censored but no outright bans were issued.

We always feel that there is some kind of parallel between political tensions and censorship in the country, Skeyes executive director Ayman Mhanna tells The Daily Star. In periods where things are okay, the number of censorship decisions decreases. In periods of tension, even when the movies have nothing to do with politics, theres an increase. I cant say its causality but there is definitely a relationship between the two.

Lea Baroudi, co-founder and general coordinator of anti-censorship NGO March, whose online Virtual Museum of Censorship records incidents of cultural censorship since 1940, says she too has noticed the correlation. Incidents of cultural censorship, she notes, have been increasing since late 2010.

Theres growing sectarian tension in the country and in the region, she explains, so I think this is affecting [censorship] wrongly so, because art and culture are supposed to bring people together. Theyre tools for peace, but they are being censored more because of these tensions ... [censors] are much more careful these days, especially when it comes to politics or religion.

Officers at the Censorship Bureau deny any correlation between Lebanons political climate and increased censorship of cultural production. Censorship does not tend to increase or decrease during any political or security situation, said General Mounir Akiki, who has been in charge of the Censorship Bureau since 2011, because it depends only on the laws and codes that govern censorship.

The authority to make cuts to films, plays, music, art and books, and to ban them outright, Akiki explains, lies with the National Committee of Information, the Film Censorship Committee (which includes four ministerial representatives), the interior minister, the information minister and the attorney general.

General Security has the authority to recommend a course of action but, Akiki stressed, they dont write the laws. They simply enforce existing censorship legislation much of which dates from before or during the Civil War.

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The right to not remain silent

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Butchy McDyke Responds to Censorship
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Butchy McDyke Responds to Censorship - Video

Joffrey All Scenes Season 3 - Tribute to the King (Game of Thrones)
A tribute to the Great King Joffrey. All hiss scenes in season 3. Be sure to subscribe. Enjoy.

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American Censorship General Bills, American Censorship General Bills, American Censorship General Bi
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Joffrey All Scenes Season 1 - Tribute to the King (Game of Thrones)
All of Joffrey #39;s Season 1 scenes. Subscribe for more videos. Disclaimer: I don #39;t own any of the content. HBO does. Also, this isn #39;t monetized.

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Joffrey All Scenes Season 1 - Tribute to the King (Game of Thrones) - Video

Thor Unnecessary Censorship
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52 censorship cases in India since January
During the first three months of the year, India had 52 censorship cases across media platforms, says a Hoot study titled "Free Speech in India 2014". Mint #39;s...

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52 censorship cases in India since January - Video

Chinas top film regulator is planning to decentralize the censorship process for local movies, granting bureaus in the provinces the power to examine films, as part of an effort to streamline the approvals process.

As it stands, filmmakers face lengthy waiting periods for approval of their movies from the Film Bureau in Beijing, which is part of the official watchdog, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT).

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Hong Kong actor/director Jackie Chan and leading mainland Chinese director Feng Xiaogang made passionate pleas this week for less censorship of their films in China at a high-level Communist Party meeting in Beijing.

The move is due to happen in April and in theory it means that local films will get to cinemas more quickly. What is not clear is whether the change will mean it is easier for local directors to get controversial content past censors.

The censorship of imported Hollywood films, and co-productions with international firms, will remain under the control of the central Film Bureau in Beijing.

A Touch Of Sin director Jia Zhangke told the entertainment section of website Sinathat it was difficult to evaluate what impact the move would have on the film industry. He said he wasn't sure if it will translate into added leeway for directors or if it was simply an internal change at the censorship unit.

STORY:Jackie Chan, Feng Xiaogang Seek Less Censorship in China as Communist Leaders Meet

If this system can be carried out smoothly, it is a good thing for the film industry, so it can reduce the operating time and improve the efficiency and it can also make the filmmakers work more convenient -- a good change. If the power is not that centralized, it is also a signal that the censorship system will make some changes, said Jia.

The news has not yet appeared on the Film Bureaus website, but the cultural committee in the southwestern city of Chongqing posted a notice saying the move was intended to further improve the administrative efficiency and the service quality of the film production companies.

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China to Decentralize Censorship Approval Process for Local Films