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PRODUCTION UK

Mohsen Makhmalbaf returns with The President

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- Produced by Film and Music Entertainment, the film will be the first in the English language by the exiled Iranian director

Mohsen Makhmalbaf returns with The President

Renowned Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (photo - The Gardener), who has long lived a life of exile in London, is back with his first English-language feature. The President is set in a fictional Caucasus country where a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat meets the people of the country he had previously subjugated.

Makhmalbaf says that the film is about peace and reconciliation and adds, “after the collapse of a regime, whether it be a king or a president or a despot, the violence used against them by the people of these countries (as in Libya) will result in new violence later on.  The new ruling party, having witnessed this, will not give up power, as they are frightened to incur the same violent end. They will resort to every possible way to hang on to power, even by killing the people of their own country if necessary.”

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The UK’s UK-based Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME) are producing. F&ME’s Mike Downey said, “The President is an attempt in film terms to propose a solution to avoid violence in future revolutions which are truly seeking freedom and democracy.  The story is challenging, exciting and compelling and with a final twist that will leave the audience asking themselves just where they stand.  There is a huge space for film makers of conscience like Mohsen, and given F&ME’s aims and current slate, our partnership is a very natural fit.”

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