{"id":1273,"date":"2010-05-14T00:43:19","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T00:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopoi.org\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2010-05-14T00:43:19","modified_gmt":"2010-05-14T00:43:19","slug":"over-one-hundred-people-attend-solidarity-screening-of-arrested-iranian-film-maker-jafar-panahis-offside-at-soho-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopoi.org\/?p=1273","title":{"rendered":"Over one hundred people attend solidarity screening of arrested Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi\u2019s Offside at Soho Theatre."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Comedian<\/strong>
Comedian Shappi Khorsandi and LRC Leader John McDonnell MP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over one hundred people attend solidarity screening of arrested Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi\u2019s Offside<\/em> at Soho Theatre. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

May 12 saw a well-attended solidarity solidarity screening of Jafar Panahi\u2019s best known film, jointly organised by Hands Off the People of Iran (Hopi) and the Labour Representation Committee. The event is part of a series of film showings and solidarity events across the country to raise the profile of Jafar Panahi and others incarcerated for political \u2018crimes\u2019 in Iran.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Panahi was arrested on March 1 as part of the Iranian state\u2019s crackdown on the pro-democracy movement sparked by the rigged presidential elections in June 2009. He has refused bail until all political prisoners of this\u00a0 movement are freed.<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The event opened with Soho Theatre\u2019s artistic director Lisa Goldman providing a moving account of meeting Panahi in Iran. She was followed by John McDonnell MP outlining the significance of the campaign to free Panahi.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery movement creates a symbol\u201d he said. \u201cIn refusing bail until all other political prisoners are freed, Jafar is taking a courageous stance that we in Hopi wish to applaud and highlight\u201d. He emphasised the importance of Hopi\u2019s core principles – against war or sanctions on Iran; but no support for the theocracy and unequivocal solidarity with genuinely democratic struggles from below against its rule, especially those of the workers\u2019 movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hopi
Shappi Khorsandi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/span>This was a theme British-Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi took up in her opening remarks to the audience, explaining that she \u201cloved\u201d Hopi precisely because of this principled stance. <\/span>Her acutely observed act then interlaced anecdotes drawn from her own background as the daughter of an Iranian activist who had also been persecuted by the Iranian theocracy with observations on the eccentricities of British society from an \u2018outsider\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Panahi\u2019s moving film was a huge hit with the audience; stormy applause followed its closing credits. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Fischer, Hopi national secretary said:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTonight was a real success. We are fighting to raise the profile of Jafar Panahi, who in spite of his international prominence as an artist, has been largely ignored by what John McDonnel<\/span><\/strong>l dubbed in his speech a \u2018media blackout\u2019. He – and all political prisoners in Iran – must not be forgotten\u201d.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Panahi\u2019s family sent thanks to the organisers of the event. Hopi has plans for more solidarity events in the near future. <\/span><\/p>\n

ENDS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Additional Information<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Contacts:<\/span><\/strong>
\nYassamine Mather \u2013 07738 828 540
\nMark Fischer \u2013 07950 416 922
\nBen Lewis \u2013 07890 437 497<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Supporters of Hopi include <\/strong>(for a full list, visit <\/span>www.hopoi.org\/supporters.html<\/a><\/span><\/strong>):
\nASLEF – train drivers union
\nPCSU – Public and commercial services union
\nGreen Party
\nCommunist Party of Great Britain
\nDiane Abbott MP \u2013 Labour
\nJohn McDonnell MP \u2013 Labour
\nCaroline Lucas MP \u2013 Green Party
\nDr Derek Wall \u2013 male principal speaker, Green Party
\nBill Bailey \u2013 comedian
\nHaifa Zangana \u2013 writer
\nKen Loach \u2013 film maker
\nNaomi Klein \u2013 author<\/span>
\nJohn Pilger \u2013 campaigning journalist
\nProfessor Alan Macfarlane \u2013 University of Cambridge
\nProfessor Mosh\u00e9 Machover \u2013 King\u2019s College, London
\nProfessor John McIlroy \u2013 Keele University
\nProfessor Bridget Fowler \u2013 Glasgow University
\nProfessor Christine Cooper \u2013 Strathclyde University
\nDr Terry Brotherstone \u2013 University of Aberdeen UCU
\nDr Adam Swift \u2013 University of Oxford
\nProfessor Phil Taylor \u2013 University of Strathclyde
\nProfessor George Joffe \u2013 King\u2019s College, London & University of Cambridge
\nPeter Jowers \u2013 University of the West of England
\nProfessor Guy Julier \u2013 Leeds Metropolitan University
\nVictor Kattan \u2013 Research Fellow, British Institute of International & Comparative Law
\nDr Gerry Kearns \u2013 University of Cambridge
\nProfessor Jeremy Keenan \u2013 University of Exeter & University of Bristol
\nDr Andrew Cumbers \u2013 University of Glasgow
\nDr Rolf Czeskleba-Dupont \u2013 University of Roskilde
\nProfessor Bill Bowring \u2013 Birkbeck College, University of London
\nProfessor Hamid Dabashi \u2013 Columbia University
\nProfessor Moataz Fattah \u2013 Cairo University<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>Hopi is a campaign established in 2008 around the central slogans \u2018No to imperialist war!\u00a0No to the theocratic regime!\u2019 As well as British activists, the organisation centrally involves a large number of Iranian exile organisations and individuals who have been forced into exile to avoid arrest and imprisonment.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over one hundred people attend solidarity screening of arrested Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi\u2019s Offside at Soho Theatre. May 12 saw a well-attended solidarity solidarity screening of Jafar Panahi\u2019s best known film, jointly organised by Hands Off the People of Iran (Hopi) and the Labour Representation Committee. The event is part of a series of … <\/p>\n

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