“Offside” pirated
“I was informed by Mr. Puria Javidpur (Panahi’s friend) on June 1 that CDs of ‘Offside’ were being illicitly sold,” Panahi told the Persian service of CHN.
“He bought a copy of the film and we watched it along with Mahmud Kalari (the film’s cameraman) in my home. We are sure that the film has been copied from the 35mm-version in Iran,” he added.
Panahi informed the Supervisory and Assessment Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, but the office has not made any effort to collect the unauthorized CDs, saying that the relevant official has been on vacation.
“I filed a lawsuit in a Tehran court, and I was able to get 30 copies of the film confiscated in a shop with the help of the court,” he explained.
“Offside” is about six Iranian girls who disguise themselves as boys in order to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to watch the 2006 World Cup Asian zone qualifier between Iran and Bahrain but who are arrested one by one.
Panahi had sought to screen his film in Iranian movie theaters in the month before the World Cup, but all of his efforts to obtain a screening license from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance were futile. He has also been unable to obtain licenses for his previous films “The Circle” and “Crimson Gold”.
Meanwhile, “Offside” is scheduled to be shown in Britain, Greece, Cyprus, and Sweden during the 2006 World Cup.
“Offside” was warmly welcomed during its debut at the 24th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran last January. The film was screened in the Guest Films category, a non-competitive section of the festival.
“Offside” and the Danish movie “A Soap” shared the Silver Bear award of the 56th International Berlin Film Festival last February.