Another snapshot in Iran’s cultural war….
Actress Leila Hatami has apologized after days of vitriol from Iranian clerics, media, and the Government.
Her offenses? Greeted the President of the Cannes Film Festival with a handshake and kiss on the cheek, and wearing a dress that did not reach her ankles.
According to State news agency IRNA, Hatami said she was “so sorry for hurting the feelings of some people” and put the blame on the 83-year-old Cannes President, Gilles Jacob: “He had forgotten the aforementioned rules, which comes with old age. My pre-emptive action of hand shaking was fruitless.”
Hatami is the star of A Separation, which won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. She was on the Cannes jury this year.
After the May 15 kiss, the First Secretary of Parliament’s Cultural Committee, Laleh Eftekhari, said, “We strongly condemn this sort of behavior….Artists who do not observe Iranian and Islamic rules of chastity should be seriously dealt with.”
The Rouhani Government, which has advocated an opening of the cultural sphere, did not come to Hatami’s defense.
To the contrary, Culture Minister Ali Jannati said, “Her behavior was unacceptable and indefensible.”
Jannati’s deputy in Parliament, Hossein Noushabadi, continued:
Iranian women, whether they are artists or not, have always been the symbol of chastity and purity. Therefore the inappropriate appearances in the Cannes Festival are not in accordance with our religious beliefs.
