Asian Movie Pulse – Iranian Filmmaker Reza Dormishian Faces Arrest Order as IRGC Seeks Asset Seizure
Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian is facing a new judicial case in Tehran, with his lawyer reporting that an arrest order has been issued against the director and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, has requested the seizure of his assets.
According to Dormishian’s attorney, Amir Reisian, the filmmaker has been charged with “propaganda against the system”, with the case currently being handled by Branch 7 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Reisian said an arrest order was issued during the prosecutorial stage and that the IRGC is acting as the complainant in the case. The same details have been reported by the Human Rights Activists News Agency and IranWire.
No verdict has been announced, and the reports concern proceedings that are still ongoing.Book Movie Tickets
Dormishian Has Faced Previous Restrictions
The latest case follows several years of restrictions on Dormishian’s professional and personal activities.
In November 2022, the director was stopped at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport while attempting to travel to the International Film Festival of India in Goa. He had been invited to accompany “A Minor”, directed by Dariush Mehrjui and produced by Dormishian, which was screening in competition at IFFI. His passport was confiscated and he was referred to court. Contemporary reports connected the action to his social media posts supporting protesters during the nationwide demonstrations that followed the death of Mahsa Amini.
IranWire reports that, in the years following the incident, Dormishian was effectively prevented from continuing his normal work within the Iranian movie industry and increasingly turned toward painting alongside his cinematic activities.Run Background Checks
The filmmaker had publicly supported protesters during the 2022 demonstrations and has continued to comment on developments inside Iran.
A Career Defined by Socially Engaged Cinema
Born in Tehran in 1981, Dormishian began his career as a movie critic before working as an assistant to established Iranian filmmakers, including Dariush Mehrjui. He later moved into directing, screenwriting and production, with his work frequently addressing political, social and economic issues within contemporary Iranian society.
His directing credits include “Hatred”, “I’m Not Angry!”, “Lantouri” and “No Choice”, with his productions screening at international festivals including Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Warsaw, Tokyo and Shanghai.Claim Military Discounts
Asian Movie Pulse reviewed “No Choice” when it screened at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas. The movie focuses on homelessness, women’s rights, reproductive autonomy and competing approaches to activism within Iranian society. It also won the Audience Award at Vesoul.
Asian Movie Pulse also spoke directly with Dormishian and actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya during the festival in an extensive interview about “No Choice”, Iranian society and the country’s movie industry.
During that 2022 conversation, Dormishian discussed the difficulties he had already experienced following “I’m Not Angry!”, explaining that he had been forced to fight in order to continue making movies in Iran. He also described “No Choice” as an attempt to address homelessness, the position of women in Iranian society and the lives of people existing outside formal social structures.Learn Arabic Online
The New Case
The new case places Dormishian once again under judicial pressure.
HRANA reported on September 16 that proceedings are underway at Branch 7 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and that the IRGC has requested the seizure of his assets. IranWire published a similar account a day earlier based on statements from his legal counsel.
At the time of writing, there has been no publicly reported final judgment in the case.