The comedy 'Mrs. Mother' produced by Ebrahim Amirian has become the highest-grossing film of the year with remarkable success during this year's cinema screenings. Starring Reza Attaran and Abbas Jamshidi Far, despite its limited screening time, it has successfully captured the audience's attention. Meanwhile, some critics and filmmakers believe that this success is not solely due to the film's quality and that there are other factors behind the scenes that have contributed to this success.
Challenges of Screening and Unfair Competition
Asghar Naeimi, a filmmaker and member of the House of Cinema's Directors Guild, emphasized the importance of film screenings, stating that cinema faces more cultural problems than issues like the mafia. He referred to the screening of the film 'Old Boy' and said, 'When this film was released, society was in dire need of a new film. The new managers of the Ministry of Culture also had a strong motivation to issue screening permits, and these factors combined to create a successful film called 'Old Boy'.'
Naeimi also stated that currently, films that have received less attention, despite having many screenings, cannot compete with films like 'Mrs. Mother'. He attributed this to a decline caused by the poor quality of films in Iranian cinema. According to him, 'This high sales figure reflects the low expectations of the audience from cinema.'
Need for Cultural and Cinematic Changes
Naeimi believes that cinema needs cultural changes and should move towards producing high-quality and engaging films. He emphasized that 'the problem of cinema in Iran is cultural, not mafia-related'. According to him, the films that are currently successful in sales actually reflect the low expectations of the audience from cinema. In the past, films like 'Tenants' and 'Under the Skin of the City' had high sales due to their quality.
He continued: 'The screening of foreign films may help cinema owners, but at the same time, it can lead to the destruction of the film industry in Iran. With the existing limitations and high costs, this becomes an unfair competition.' Naeimi pointed out that if conditions are created for the success factors of films to balance, there may not be an issue with the screening of foreign films, but currently, this arena is unfair for Iranian cinema.
Ultimately, Naeimi, emphasizing the importance of quality in cinema, called for more attention to the production of quality and engaging works for the audience, stating: 'We must think about the future of cinema and not just focus on the sales of films.'
