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Iranium
Iranium is a 2011 documentary film by director Alex Traiman, Written and Distributed by Clarion Fund. The film discusses Iranian foreign policy and Iran – United States relations, including the Iran hostage crisis and the 1979 Iranian Revolution and takeover by Ayatollah Khomeini.[1] The film premiered at select AMC theaters and community centers throughout the United States on February 8.[2] The film has been criticized for misrepresenting and falsifying information in order to create a sense of urgency in the viewing public.[3][4] Selected contributorsNotable contributors in the film include:[5]
ControversyOn February 8, 2011, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, denounced the film during a press conference in Tehran, calling it "...an attempt by Western countries to harm the progress of Iran's nuclear program."[8][9] A January 18, 2011 screening of the film was then canceled by the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC), after the agency received further protests from the Iranian government, phone calls, and letters.[10] The Iranian embassy had previously submitted a letter to the LAC, conveying their wish that the documentary not be shown due to concerns regarding the depiction of Iran's nuclear program and its perceived aims. The next day, Heritage Minister James Moore ordered that the film be shown and the screening was reinstated, scheduled to take place in February.[11] According to Minister Moore, "The Iranian Embassy will not dictate to the Government of Canada which films will or will not be shown in Canada."[12] The film was subsequently shown in Ottawa on February 6 at the Library and Archives Canada, the same venue that canceled a showing of the film earlier after complaints by the Iranian Embassy.[13] Following the affair at the LAC, film reviewer Jay Stone of the Vancouver Sun wrote: "It would be tempting to dismiss as a right-wing fantasy if only someone hadn't gone to such steps to keep it from being shown."[14] CriticismIn an opinion piece for the Tehran Bureau on the PBS Frontline website, journalists Eli Clifton and Ali Gharib questioned the film's accuracy. The authors claim that "most of the analysts interviewed in the film are drawn from two neoconservative Washington think tanks...", the Center for Security Policy and Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The authors of the article claim that "Iran's leaders, despite a willingness to sacrifice citizens, have demonstrated that they are concerned primarily with themselves. Iran's use of a nuclear weapon would almost certainly imperil the regime's survival" and "while the film's justification for military action appears to hinge on Israel's willingness to launch a unilateral attack, recent comments from former Mossad chief Meir Dagan pushing back the Iranian nuclear clock may pose a challenge to the sense of urgency expressed by Clarion's experts and the narrative of imminent conflict crafted by the film's producers."[3] Similarly, the Iranian Student Alliance in America (ISAA) at the University of California, Berkeley condemned the film, saying that "Iranium falsifies, exaggerates and overtly generalizes reality to manipulate the public’s emotions. Through such actions, the makers of Iranium instill fear within their viewers to justify their war agenda. Worst of all, they ruthlessly use the sacrifices of the people of Iran to push for a war that will target the same people."[4] References
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