TEHRAN-A specialized panel on documentary filmmaking was held during the 2nd Sobh International Media Festival on Monday in Tehran’s Mellat Cineplex, where a group of documentary filmmakers from around the world discussed various matters regarding their field, media, and related issues.

Ukrainian-American film producer Igor Lopatonok, Libyan-Lebanese journalist and filmmaker Radwan Mortada, Irish documentary filmmaker Sean Murray, American journalist and filmmaker Dan Cohen, and Iranian documentary filmmaker Hassan Yadegari participated in the panel hosted by Iranian cinema activist Bahman Nouraei.

The participant expressed their condolences over the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian along with a number of local officials in a tragic helicopter crash in northwest of the country on Sunday. 

“It is a tragedy for the Iranian people and a real loss for Iran. But every time Iran takes a knock, they come back stronger,” Murray said.

“We were all shocked by their loss. We feel the pain and share the sadness of the Iranian people. I believe that with the strong will and faith, the nation can become stronger again,” Lopatonok said.

“It is an absolute tragedy and my heart goes out to the families of the president and everyone on board who were killed and to the people of Iran. I think it is a setback in what is a revolutionary act for Iran, that has been going on for years under President Raisi. But any good revolution does not rely on a single person but there is an ideology that goes beyond. No doubt, Iran will continue its way. I am optimistic that Zionism and American imperialism are in decline,” Cohen noted.

“It is a disaster for sure and we share your pain. I believe that Iran will jump over that and become stronger,” Mortada stated.

For his part, Yadegari referred to one of his latest documentaries, which he made three years ago about President Raisi titled “Fire, Rosary, and Ebrahim,” and said: “It is hard times. The news was shocking and sad. Iran has experienced lots of crisis in the past decades after the (1979) Islamic Revolution but I hope we become more powerful”.

Answering the question by the Tehran Times about the U.S., Lopatonok said: “Filmmakers in Hollywood are not free to make what they dream about. They can only make films that studios want”.

“That is why I never work for studios because I do not want to work this way. I want to have my freedom of choice. I keep my final cuts close to my chest. No one from my investors or producers can tell me what to do with my films,” he added.

Another issue is deleting the contents from various online video platforms or streaming services like Netflix. “My film ‘Ukraine on Fire’ was deleted from the platforms and their excuse was ‘he is spreading the Russian propaganda,” he explained.

Lopatonok began his career as a producer in the film business in 2005, by co-founding the production company Technomedia which specialized in offering new digital technologies to Ukrainian film professionals.

His production company is Global 3 Pictures. With Oliver Stone as executive producer, he directed the controversial documentary “Ukraine on Fire” about the Maidan Uprising during the winter months of 2013/14.

His 2019 documentary film “Revealing Ukraine,” produced by Stone, featured interviews with Vladimir Putin.

In 2021, his film “Qazaq: History of the Golden Man” was released as both a feature film and an eight-hour miniseries, produced by Stone, who featured in it interviewing Kazakhstan’s authoritarian former ruler, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Also Speaking about censorship in the U.S., Cohen said: “There are so many ways that censorship operates. Generally, it tends to be softer and more subtle but we have seen recently it has become more extreme like deletion of films”.

Dan Cohen is an independent journalist and filmmaker. He has contributed to Al Jazeera English, Alternet, Electronic Intifada, The Grayzone, Middle East Eye, Mondoweiss, The Nation, and Vice News. 

The Washington DC correspondent for Behind the Headlines, he has produced video reports and print dispatches from Israel-Palestine, Latin America, and the US-Mexico border. He is the co-producer of the award-winning documentary Killing Gaza.

Regarding the same issue of censorship, Murtada also commented: “It is not just about Netflix or Hollywood. Just have a look at YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram. If you include the names of Qasem Soleimani, Moqawama, or Hezbollah, your video will disappear. Even the reach of your page will decrease gradually. This is a sample of censorship as well”. 

Radwan Murtada is a journalist who has written for Al Akhbar since 2007 and has contributed to many foreign media outlets on political, criminal, social, and judiciary affairs in Lebanon and the wider region.

Since 2007, he has worked as a journalist, documentary filmmaker, researcher, writer, executive producer, and assignment producer.

Due to his extensive research, writing, and critical coverage of Islamic groups and the war in Syria, he has become an expert on these Islamic Jihadi groups and movements. He has visited and interviewed Al-Qaeda/ISIS leaders in Syria and Lebanon, inside and outside of Palestinian refugee camps. He has employed his vast knowledge and skills in creating and producing documentaries about the region, ISIS, the Syrian war, and its warlords.

In 2014, he founded Blue House Film, a production company based in Beirut, Lebanon, specializing in the production of documentary films and ads.

In 2018, I published his first book titled “How the Syrian Revolution Grew Its Beard.” The book is the result of his 6-year investigative work on different Jihadi groups, rebels, suicide bombers, and Syrian armed groups, in Syria and Lebanon. 

In 2020, he founded “The Hub” with a group of journalists and producers. The company is specialized in helping journalists and filmmakers, by providing needed news and media services in Lebanon and the Arab region.

Regarding the difficulties of documentary filmmaking, Murray said: “Working in a tense environment and trying to be the voice of the voiceless through film and media is tough”.

“We must be careful not to lose our approach when there are paramilitary forces, and we should not allow any disruptions in our work. In Ireland, many filmmakers feel significant pressure,” he added.

As another example, he named the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as allies with Israel, where filmmaking is challenging. “However, we knew that Iranian media could convey our narrative when making documentaries in these countries,” he underlined.

Seán Murray is an award-winning film/documentary maker and director of Relapse Pictures, a Belfast-based production company specializing in a range of work including documentary, drama, and commercial/promotional videos. His work focuses on post-conflict / testimony documentaries that address legacy issues pertaining to the recent conflict in Northern Ireland. 

He also holds a Ph.D. in documentary film, a project that researched the role of documentary in supporting victims of political violence. This work demonstrated through both a critical and creative methodology how film can address, investigate, and act as an advocate in the issues and debates that are simplified and marginalized by mainstream film and broadcast media.

Also speaking at the meeting, Yadegari explained about the financial challenges for documentary filmmakers and said: “When making a documentary, you need financial support and then work to ensure it has an economic output”.

“One important point is that, as a documentary filmmaker you need to know what you want to do, and variables should not affect you. You need to research and examine the indicators. Research is a fundamental element in documentary filmmaking,” he asserted.

Hassan Yadegari is a writer and filmmaker. He has made about 10 documentaries on various social, cultural, and artistic issues including the life of Iranian writer Nader Ebrahimi, the life of the Iranian satirist Kioumars Saberi Foumani (also known by his pen name Gol-Agha), the history of Olympic games, and the evolution of fashion, clothing, and style in Iran since 2000 BC.

The Sobh International Media Festival was established in Iran in 2023 with the goal of introducing a wide range of television producers present in the IRIB World Service, as well as giving local and international artists a platform to create art and facilitate positive interactions and cultural transformations.

The festival aims to foster artistic creativity in order to build a strong and influential media platform on a global scale by recognizing and rewarding talented individuals with a background in media.

Organized by the IRIB World Service, the festival covers various categories such as television and radio production, as well as podcasting and social media.

It also includes educational activities, including workshops and seminars, to help introduce the artists to a variety of media, broaden their vision, and encourage independent thinking.

The festival centers around “Media and the New World Order,” delving into the significance of local and regional identities, spiritualism, cultural authority, as well as the influence of family origins. Moreover, it explores the idea that discourse can give rise to resistance and opposition against oppressive powers.

This is the place where all artists, thinkers, activists, and creators strive for the dawn (Sobh) of justice, humanity, peace, and spirituality in a new world.

Since October 7, when Hamas unexpectedly started Operation Al-Aqsa Storm in the occupied territories in reaction to the Israeli regime’s increased atrocities against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Israel has been bombing Gaza.

It is reported that over 35,000 Palestinians, half of them children and women, have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since then.

The death toll does not include the approximately 10,000 people who are still missing and trapped under the rubble.

Israel's relentless bombings on Gaza have taken an alarming toll on the lives of the civilian population. The sheer number of casualties, especially children, is deeply concerning and highlights the immense suffering inflicted upon the Palestinian people.

The 2nd Sobh International Media Festival was held in Tehran from May 17 to 21.

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