Prince Ehtejab

By Hagir Daryoush

In spite of an impressive number of awards won within the last year by Iranian feature and short /films in major festivals as well as in specialized events, thelocal film industry is passing through a quiet period.

Production has dropped from an annual 90 features in 1974 to a little more than half that /figure. There seems to be two explanations for the decline. First, the freezing of cinema adrnission prices combined with the rising costs of material, labour and services in a country where /films are primarily destined for local consumption, has made /film-making a much less profitable enterprise than it was, say, /five years ago. Second, many of the producers, directors and writers who have been, and still are, responsible for products pejoratively called ''Persian- speaking /films,'' are not prepared or able to cope with the emerging sophistication of the public, which shows positive signs of being fed up with local adaptations of Bombay melodramas or third-rate American thrillers.

Given these prevailing conditions, it seems that an aid law or some other sort of government subvention is now badly needed to prevent a complete standstill. Although no such scheme actually exists in any effective and systematic way, some national organizations have been active in helping the young directors who try to make quality products. One such organization is the Tel/film Company, wholly owned by the National Radio- Television, which has co-produced, on a 50-50 basis, the majority of /films made within the last two years that have been identified as belonging to the ''New Iranian Cinema.'' A recent example of this is the strange and disturbing Prince Ehtejab by Bahman Farmanara, which explores life under the Qadjar dynasty, removed from power half a century ago.

Another organization, a private company with its stock majority held by a national bank, may also prove helpful to the local industry Its called SACI(for nd is certainly the most enterprising of the new producers. With enough funds to support its ambitious programme, SACI last year concluded a much-publicised deal with Carlo Ponti to make twelve productions, some of them ''super ,'' within three to four years. The company has also been active on the local scene, and the encouraging news that Bahman Farmanara has been appointed its Managing Director may mean that more attention with in future be focused by this company on Iranian talent and on turning out completely Iranian films of quality.

Outside the realm of these two powerful bodies, the New Film Group Co-operative is the only production unit worthy of mention. Working under constant financial pressure and yet with total disregard for commercial considerations, this Co-operative was responsible for Shahid-Saless's Still Life and Far From Home (the latter co-produced with the Federal Republic of Germany) and with pre- sent this year Dariush Mehrjui's Mjna Cycle and Massoud Kirniai's Ghazal, both co- produced with SACI. Although these films have been made with an eye on the foreign market and can hold their own when com paredwith any ''artistic'' movie from the traditional film-making countries, the cinéastes of the Co-op are starting to talk bitterly of ''distribution ghettos'' and ''distribution racism.'' And indeed, it is a fact that in spite of prizes and critical acclaim won by the New Film Group products, they have not been able to break into even limited '' art et essai''circuits, let alone more generalised foreign markets.

Prince Ehtejab

Shazdeh Ehtejab

Bahman Farmanara, Iran, 1974; 93m

“One of the greatest Iranian films.”___Mamad Haghighat, Histoire du Cinema Iranian, 1900-1999

“As beautiful as it is tragic.” Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Set during the final years of the Qajar dynasty (1795-1925), Prince Ehtejab offers a searing look at the end of a world and lifestyle. Dying of tuberculosis, Ehtejab spends his days locked up in his palace, wandering its corridors and aurveying his possessions, Haunted by memories of his family’s and his own brutality, he’s even visited by the ghosts of his father and grandfather, who taunt him with charges that he has betrayed his heritage. Houshang Golshiri’s acclaimed novel was powerfully adapted by Farmanara and the novelist himself, brilliantly capturing the shifts between physical reality and the private world the Prince increasingly inhabits. The film won the Grand Prize at the Tehran Film Festival, and was one of the first Iranian films to be widely screened internationally.