16/4/2010
Letters to the President
Depo, Istanbul
Dir. Petr Lom Canada, Iran, 2009, 74'. Projection of the film and conference by Yuksel Taskin
Projection of the film dir. Petr Lom (Canada, Iran, 2009, 74') and conference by Yuksel Taskin (Marmara Univ., Dept. of International Relations). Every year nearly ten million Iranians place their last hope in a nondescript building in Tehran: this is where they send their letters to President Ahmadinejad and where these letters are read, considered, and answered. The film allows everyone to have their say - those who contradict themselves three times in a single sentence, those who, out of fear, say nothing at great length, and those who openly say what they think. From the restrained editing emerges a snapshot of a country in which people are worried - about the cost of food, the Americans, the power supply, the way to paradise, whether the world realizes that Islam stands for justice, and about the new jewelry regulations. "Letters to the President" demonstrates how difficult it is to form a conclusive judgment about the politics of a country where pragmatism, religious practice, political strategy, and systematic manipulation are all part of one and the same system.