From Iran: Interview with Filmmaker James Longley

Editor's note: James Longley, director of Gaza Strip and Iraq in Fragments is in Iran filming a new documentary about a junior high school in the village of Pul. You can read his previous post here.What have been your primary means of communication both inside and outside of Iran?Email. The SMS network has been down since the night before the June 12 election. The mobile phones, both domestic and international, have been spotty at best. Skype comes and goes. Email is the only form of communication that has continued working consistently during this crisis. I have also posted many of my experiences to a documentary filmmaking online community, D-Word.com.What is the status of your translator? Is he still with you and safe?We were both released after about 20 minutes. But those 20 minutes were long enough for my translator to be brutally beaten by Iranian police. He has since recovered but has had trouble walking normally for the last week.It has been interesting to note that the Iranian government-controlled PressTV later ran an article on their website to spin our detention, saying that I have been making a documentary about the Iranian elections; the article mentions that we had been detained but failed to mention any of the violence toward my translator. The article then proceeds to list a number of filming locations in Iran supposedly included in my "election documentary" -- places I haven't visited in over a year.I am not making a documentary about the elections. I am currently banned from filming like all other foreign journalists.Are you still shooting for your film or has that jeopardized your safety to the point where you have stopped?My documentary film project -- the one I received my visa to make -- is about a junior high school in the village of Pul, in the Caspian Sea province of Mazandaran. Since the elections I have not been back to this village, and I am not sure at the moment whether I will be allowed to continue working on that project.As far as filming current events in Iran -- this has been declared illegal by the government. Also, there has been an active effort to scapegoat the foreign media and blame them for the violence and tension following the elections. I expect that this broad-brush anti-foreign media propaganda will make it quite difficult for me to work here in the future. It may be that I will have to abandon my Iranian project and work on other subjects outside Iran, where I will not be subject to such a prohibitive level of violence and censorship.There are reports that the protests have largely been peaceful, even silent. What have you witnessed, and where?Yes. I observed pro-Mousavi protests on Valiasr Street on Tuesday and also the large demonstration on Imam Khomeini Square on Thursday, June 18. Tens of thousands of people took part in these marches. While the majority were young, the marchers were of all ages and walks of life.The protests were "silent" meaning that there was no chanting of slogans. Some protesters even held signs that read "SILENCE" and whenever some small group of people began chanting a slogan they were actively shushed by the rest of the demonstrators. There has been a very concerted effort on the part of the demonstrators to maintain a level of peace and civility in their marches. Their intent has been to protect themselves from police crackdown by enforcing a strict level of self-imposed order, and to separate themselves from the individuals who have carried out some destructive rioting over the last week.

Some protesters even held signs that read "SILENCE" and whenever some small group of people began chanting a slogan they were actively shushed by the rest of the demonstrators. [...] Their intent has been to protect themselves from police crackdown by enforcing a strict level of self-imposed order, and to separate themselves from the individuals who have carried out some destructive rioting over the last week.

Given the influence of political leaders like Ayatollah Khameni, are we fooling ourselves (and even to some extent self-aggrandizing) to even use the word "democratic" when speaking of Iran?The political system in Iran is quite complicated and hard to define. It is not a direct democracy, although there are elections, because all of the candidates for office are vetted by the ruling elites. On the other hand Iran is not a dictatorship, because a number of different political factions vie for power within the system, and absolute power does not rest with any one individual. Even a figure such as Ayatollah Khamenei is appointed and can be removed from power by the Council of Experts, though given the circular nature of the system such an event is highly unlikely.Have Iranians associated the protests and upheaval to the Obama movement (in terms of innovative use of technology, art, youth involvement, etc.) or is that a sentiment that is limited to the viewpoint of the American media?I don't think that the election of Obama in the United States has a lot of bearing on the current situation in Iran. The conflict now playing itself out on the streets of Iran is one that has been brewing in the country for a long time, and has to do with how different people view the natural evolution of the Islamic Republic. The election of Obama is significant only insofar as he will determine US policy toward Iran in the face of these events.The Obama administration would do well to stay as silent as possible while these events are playing out in Iran, as any US policies or comments that can be seen as "meddling" in the internal affairs of Iran are easy demonize. Given the history of US in Iran, which saw the CIA-sponsored overthrow of the democratic government of Iran in 1953, the idea of foreign meddling has a great deal of resonance with ordinary Iranians.In this election, Iranians themselves have been more preoccupied with their internal issues, such as social and cultural freedoms, the domestic economy, and so on. While not insignificant in the presidential campaigning, international relations have been fairly low on the list of priorities for most Iranians.Is there anything our audience can do to help?I think that the best thing people outside Iran can do is to educate themselves about the complexities of Iran, and try to understand Iran as it is. Iranians would very much like to be understood and respected by the rest of the world. When Iranians are approached with understanding and respect they have a tendency to respond very positively. Because of the deep insecurities inherent in Iranian society, this respectful approach to Iran is the only one that can, by extension, help Iranians to move forward and solve their own internal problems.

Because of the deep insecurities inherent in Iranian society, this respectful approach to Iran is the only one that can, by extension, help Iranians to move forward and solve their own internal problems.

With a near 29 point lead in the results for Ahmadinejad, is there any faith that the recount will establish Mousavi as the winner?Ayatollah Khamenei's speech on Friday at Tehran University ensures that there will be no recount of votes, and that Ahmadinejad's presidency will be unchallenged. I cannot foresee any set of events that would change that decision. Of course, we are still in the middle of a very unstable moment in Iran, and there is no telling what will take place in these coming days. Certainly, though, Ayatollah Khamenei's speech made it clear that there will no longer be any tolerance for continued marches on the street. If such protests to the outcome of the June 12 elections do continue they are likely to be met with violence.What is the latest you have heard about the students at the University in Tehran?Unfortunately I have no source of inside information about those events. I only know as much as I can gather by reading the news online.(photo courtesy Shahram Sharif)