“Unfortunately 38 percent of the House of Cinema’s budget has not yet been paid and the House of Cinema has been unable to offer the commodity coupons which it annually distributes among the vulnerable groups of the members at the end of the year. And worse than that, we have not yet paid the salaries, New Year bonuses and rewards to our staff.” Seyed Mohsen Hashemi executive deputy manager of the House of Cinema said in response to questions regarding the House of Cinema’s success in achieving its objectives in the Iranian calendar year 1388.
Hashemi grouped the objectives of the film guilds in three general categories. He enumerated the categories as “1. Guild and welfare demands under the title of job security.
“2. Demands related to film production, distribution and exhibition, under the heading general legal structure of the film industry. The category includes ending direct government intervention, clarifying the types of assistances and credits to be offered from the general budget, replacing the attitude of granting jobs as privileges with the view that cinematic job opportunities are rightful demands, and the financial and authors rights or the copyrights.
“3. The collection of activities that lead to the augmentation of experience, knowledge and the new professional technology, generally referred to as upgrading job knowledge and skill.”
Hashemi confirmed that “To ensure the realization of the first section, the first stage of the data site for the film guild members has been carried out, and two regulations for the issuance of the cinematic system numbers and group work contracts have been approved by the board of directors, and we hope to be able to implement part of the provisions for the job security of members of the film trade guilds with the assistance of the department of the cinematographic affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.”
The executive deputy manager of the House of Cinema further said: “Regarding the job insurance, unfortunately, the requests of the managing director of the House of cinema and his applications to the authorities, including the President (Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) as well as the President’s deputy for planning and policies and the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance have borne no fruit despite many efforts in the past 16 months.”
Hashemi believes there is no determination in the executive branch of the government for the implementation of the injunction regarding job insurance stipulated in the law of the Fourth Plan and the supervisory branch – the Islamic Consultative Assemble and the organization for the general supervision – exhibit no enthusiasm for the follow-up supervision.
In other parts of the interview, Hashemi pointed out: “Regarding the coordination of the film production, distribution and exhibition, the House of Cinema has prepared its proposals in a compilation under the heading `Draft of the law for the creation of the Organization of the Cinematic Structure  and supporting the financial and artistic rights of cinematic production’ clearly defined within the framework of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran,  and presented it for study and approval to the President and the cultural committee of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in February of 2008 and the follow-up action by the House of Cinema in the spring and autumn of the current year has produced no results. Apparently this sector of the film industry business is to be managed in accordance with regulations based on personal preferences.”
As regards the points expressed in the draft, Hashemi explained: “The draft includes proposals for the legal structure of the film production, regulations for the issuance of licenses, methods for the extension of credit assistances from the general budget, violations and the penalties for them, have been clearly defined. Also, proposals for lightening the burden of the government and enabling it to act faster in relegating its supervisory duties, have been added as appendices to the draft.”
Regarding the third category Hashemi said: “Presence at international film events and arranging specialized training workshops  are among measures included in the category of increasing experiences and upgrading professional knowledge. During the current year 27 filmmakers from 11 film trade guilds attended international events such as the Cannes and Berlin festivals (with finance provided by the department of the cinematographic affairs of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance and Farabi cinema Foundation).
“Also, two study visits to film companies in France and the U.S.  were made. However, two training workshops on screenwriting and digital cinematography had been anticipated. The screenwriting workshop, scheduled for the summer, had to be cancelled because of the unfavorable social and political conditions, and the digital cinematography workshop, which had been programmed for March in Istanbul with financial assistance from the French organization CNC, could not be held as the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance failed to provide the finance allocated for the purpose in the annual budget agreement.”