Iran director halts screening of ‘In the Levant Time’ over piracy

An Iran director has stopped the screening of his latest film ‘In the Levant Time’ after a number of people was seen recording the movie on their mobile phones.

Director Ebrahim Hatamikia halted the public screening of his latest film ‘In the Levant Time’ at a theater in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad on Friday.

A number of people were secretly trying to record the duration of his movie on their mobile phones, which made the director angry.

He subsequently stepped on stage at Mashhad’s Atlas Cineplex and asked the organizers to stop screening the film.

Hatamikia also asked organizers of the Mashhad venue to implement stricter control over the theaters premiering movies from the festival. Filmgoer’s mobile phones were confiscated following the director’s comments.

‘In the Levant Time’ portrays an Iranian pilot who, along with his son as copilot, is seized by Daesh terrorists in Syria.

The Mashhad screening was included as part of the 36th edition of the prominent Fajr Film Festival, which is slated for February 1-11, 2018.

AI/MMF