Responsible for regulating the import and export of films in Iran. As of the early 1990s, it set limits on foreign, especially US, films, with for example, in 1991 and 1992 only one and two US films licensed for exhibition in Iran respectively. Iranian cinemas must pay higher tax to show foreign films, with these taxes subsidising the Farabi Cinema Foundation and production of new Iranian films.
The Ministry reserves the right to censor scripts or films, at various production stages, including after they are finished and screened at the Fajr International Festival, which is organised by the Ministry and falls under its supervision. The films there are classified (by the Ministry) into four categories, 'A' through to 'D', based on their perceived quality according to a mix of formal and social criteria. A and B films receive far more support and distribution.
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (MCIG) supervises Iran's film industry. Its censorship regulations include rules of he jab (women's veiling and modesty). Films undergo multiple stages of inspection, in addition to synopsis and screenplay stages. The precise rules are always changing, due to debates between government agencies and filmmakers, film critics and audiences - but not always to filmmakers' benefit. Mohammed Khatami, who was appointed Minister of the MCIG when it began in 1982, was known as a supporter of controversial filmmakers like Mohsen Makhmalbaf - one of the reasons why he was removed from his post in 1992.
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