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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSdLsuijBZA
Laleh, The Movie
Did you know that... Laleh, the movie known as "Drive" went to per-production in Tehran - Iran in 2012? Yes, only a few months into the shooting of the movie, with almost 60 percent done, a bureaucrat in the Iranian Ministry of Arts, the manager of the movie center, ordered a raid on the production office in the middle of the night in September of 2012 and took away all the items from the movie, including the hard drives with all the film footage. Then they shut down the production office. Why? How could they do such an illegitimate action? The answer came up to the surface after seven years of battle and fighting with a few autocratic managers inside of the Iranian Cinema Organization. The man who ordered the production office to be shut down and stopped the production had a personal and political problem with the subject matter of the movie, …” a woman achieving her dream of racing cars…” They didn’t want to see women make a dynamic impact in the society of Iran, but to remain in the background and not see a story of a woman like Laleh fighting for her dreams and her freedom. So, they shut down the production office, destroyed every single stage of the movie, tore up sets, and forced everyone to go home in November 2012. The only one who did not go away and fought back was the Writer-Director-Producer of the movie, Mr. Essy Niknejad. He found himself among a group of dissimulative bureaucrats and Mr. Niknejad had to work harder than ever. He spent seven years of the prime of his life fighting for this story that had to be told. He sacrificed his personal finances, his health, and his time to take the movie out of the government's hands. There was opposition at every level from devious, authoritarian politicians in the Iranian Cinema Organization, under the leadership of Iranian President Dr. Rohani Presidency. There were countless court battles and meetings with many other Iranian officials, some of who were sympathetic and helped Essy to get the unfinished project out of the opposition’s hand. At one point he even had to take his case to the Iranian Parliament to explain that he has been a victim of narrow-minded management. Finally, after seven years, he got permission to go back to production. And so, Mr. Niknejad finished the movie “Laleh”, with help of an amazingly talented Iranian crew and a few friends inside of the Iranian Cinema Organization. On March 15, 2021, “Laleh” had a grand premiere opening in Tehran at one of the best cinemas. When Iranian officials and professionals from the movie industry and critics actually got to watch the finished film with general audiences, many changed their minds about their former opposition and loved the film and said, “it is a great movie...”. But the true reward for Mr. Niknejad was the impact it had to inspire and please the general audiences in Tehran. Now The movie “Laleh” team wants to find a wider distribution for the film and bring the same inspiration of a woman pursuing her dream to audiences across the United States and throughout the world.
