The Upside-down Triangle
The Upside-down Triangle Official Poster
Directed byHossein Rajabian
Produced byHossein Rajabian
CinematographyHossein Rajabian
Music byShahin Pajoom
Production
company
Barg Film. +Co
Release date
2016
Running time
106 minutes
CountryIran
LanguagePersian - Kurdish English

The Upside-down Triangle (Persian: مثلث واژگون) is the first feature film by Iranian independent filmmaker Hossein Rajabian. The black-and-white film has been shot and directed by Rajabian – who has been involved in photography for years – using digital cinema technology.[1] The shooting of the film kicked off in mid-February 2013 and came to an end in early May 2013. Snowfall in Central Alborz in northern Iran and [problems associated with] local arrangements are to blame for the prolongation of the shooting.[2][3][4] This film was banned by Iranian government and has not been screened anywhere, any festival, etc.

Synopsis

A man, regretting divorcing his wife, is seeking to win her over again. However, due to a complex Iranian marriage law, he cannot remarry her immediately. He asks a colleague of his to serve as a temporary husband before he can legally propose to his wife again. The agreement is made, but after getting married, his colleague is then unwilling to divorce. He takes his new spouse along with him on his professional mission which is to plant traffic signs along a derelict border road. The ex-husband learns about their trip, and decides to follow them...[5]

Production

The film's material was all following the arrest of Hossein Rajabian by security forces on October 5, 2013. As a result, The Upside-down Triangle, which was a licensed film, suffered inconsistency and underwent international distribution censorship before being able to be submitted for international film festivals, and public screening in Iran.[6] The film was never screened and the film crew, including the director, has yet to watch it on the screen. The film's main material–among them the international band of the film's final sound–has yet to be given back to the producer Hossein Rajabian. Following his arrest, Rajabian spent two months in solitary confinement in Ward 2-A of Evin prison and was threatened with televised confessions.[7] He was released on bail (around $166,000) in mid-December, pending trial.[8] Two years later, his case was heard at Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court which was presided over by Judge Moghisseh (Summer 2015).[9][10] He was sentenced to six years in prison for pursuing illegal cinematic activities, launching propaganda against the establishment and hurling insults at sanctities. On appeal, his sentence was reduced to three years imprisonment and three years of suspended jail.[11][12][13][14]

Censorship

The Upside-down Triangle was first reviewed by Iranian security forces together with two film directors whose identities were never revealed. The original 106-minute film, which was reduced to 80-minutes during the review process, finally managed to secure the go-ahead for screening from the Cinema Department of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The license would allow the director to present a 72-minute version of the film which has been re-edited under a new title (Sky Reaches the Earth),[15][16] but this failed to affect the fate of the film one way or another.[17][18] Currently the longest version of the film is a 90-minute copy with a medium quality which has been pieced together after the review process, with 10 minutes of the film failing to secure the nod of related officials. The fate of the remaining 16 minutes of the master copy – which was part of the confiscated hardware and has yet to be given back to the director – still hangs in the balance. On various grounds, including reviewing, parts of the film – 34 minutes in total – have landed on the cutting room floor.[19]

Release

In protest at his six-year prison term and in support for two members of his crew–namely Mehdi Rajabian, the sound designer and Yousef Emadi, the sound recordist who had been arrested and convicted along with the director – Hossein Rajabian released a free version of his film online in Spring 2016.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Amnesty International Calls for Quashing the Convictions of 3 Artists". Hrana - News Agancy. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  2. ↑ "آپارات در ایام نوروز - BBC Persian". BBC Persian (in Persian). 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  3. ↑ Hossein Rajabian Iranian Filmmaker & Photographer (2015-12-27), hossein rajabian film Behind the Scene پشت صحنه مثلث واژگون فیلم حسین رجبیان, retrieved 2016-04-24
  4. ↑ Hossein Rajabian Iranian Filmmaker & Photographer (2016-04-23), The Upside-down Triangle A Film By Hossein Rajabian نسخه کامل مثلث واژگون فیلمی از حسین رجبیان, retrieved 2016-04-24
  5. ↑ Hossein Rajabian Iranian Filmmaker & Photographer (2016-04-23), The Upside-down Triangle A Film By Hossein Rajabian نسخه کامل مثلث واژگون فیلمی از حسین رجبیان, retrieved 2016-04-24
  6. ↑ "Artists Sentenced to Prison". en.iranwire.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  7. ↑ "Iran: Two musicians and a filmmaker sentenced". Freemuse. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  8. ↑ "Iran: 165 Iranian artists and activists protest charges against two musicians and a filmmaker". Freemuse. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  9. ↑ "Call on Iranian authorities to drop charges on two musicians and a filmmaker". International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  10. ↑ Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (2016-03-24). "Film-maker and two musicians face three years prison in Iran". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  11. ↑ "Iran: Filmmaker faces prison after three-minute trial". www.amnesty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  12. ↑ "Iran: Tortured filmmaker and musicians face imminent arrest amid crackdown on artists". www.amnesty.org. March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  13. ↑ "Iran: 165 Iranian artists and activists protest charges against two musicians and a filmmaker". Freemuse. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  14. ↑ "Iran: Tortured filmmaker and musicians face imminent arrest amid crackdown on artists". www.amnesty.org. March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  15. ↑ "Taste of Cinema's The 10 Best Iranian Films of 2015 | Listology". www.listology.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  16. ↑ hossein, rajabian. "SKY REACHES THE EARTH by HOSSEIN Rajabian - Iran Art House Film". iranarthousefilm.net. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  17. ↑ "Top 3 Iranian films of 2015". The Asian Age. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  18. ↑ "The 10 Best Iranian Films of 2015". Taste Of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  19. ↑ "Artists Sentenced to Prison". en.iranwire.com. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  20. ↑ Hossein Rajabian Iranian Filmmaker & Photographer (2016-04-23), The Upside-down Triangle A Film By Hossein Rajabian نسخه کامل مثلث واژگون فیلمی از حسین رجبیان, retrieved 2016-04-24
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