Iranium

Iranium is a 2011 documentary film by director Alex Traiman, Written and Distributed by Clarion Fund.

Iranium
Iranium Film Poster
Directed byAlex Traiman
Produced byRaphael Shore
Written byClarion Fund
Alex Traiman
Narrated byShohreh Aghdashloo
Edited byMicah Smith
Distributed byClarion Fund
Release date
  • February 8, 2011 (2011-02-08)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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 contributors

Notable contributors in the film include:[5]

Controversy

On 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."[7][8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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."[11]

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.[12] 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."[13]

Criticism

In 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."[14] 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."[15]

References
  1. "About the Film". Archived from the original on 2011-01-23. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  2. "IRANIUM Premieres at AMC Theaters, February 8". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  3. Elie Clifton; Ali Gharib (26 January 2011). "'Iranium' or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 'Military Option'". PBS. Archived from the original on 2017-05-31. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  4. "ISAA's Statement on Iranium". 16 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  5. "Interviews". Iranium the movie. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  6. "Claire Lopez". Patriot Symposiums. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  7. Laura Payton (8 February 2011). "Iranium film angers Iran". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 2011-02-11. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  8. Jim Quilty (5 February 2011). "In Iran, justice is fluid". Variety. Archived from the original on 2011-02-09. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  9. Edmund DeMarche (19 January 2011). "Despite Threats, Canada to Show Movie About Iran". FoxNews. Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  10. Sarah Boesveld (20 January 2011). "Minister orders film on Iran be shown". National Post. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  11. Edmund DeMarche (19 January 2011). "Despite Threats, Canada to Show Movie About Iran". Fox News. Archived from the original on 2011-01-23. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  12. Ottawa Citizen (22 January 2011). "Film on nuclear Iran to show on Feb. 6: Questions about cancellation of screening still unanswered". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  13. Jay Stone (1 February 2011). "'Iranium — the movie Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn't want you to see'". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2011-02-05. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  14. Elie Clifton; Ali Gharib (26 January 2011). "'Iranium' or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 'Military Option'". PBS. Archived from the original on 2017-05-31. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  15. "ISAA's Statement on Iranium". 16 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
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