''Siyāhnamā'ī'' (), literally "portraying in black", is a persian term which means to either fraudulently or negligently misrepresent a social cause or situation to be gravely dark as opposed to its factual status. This term is usually used by Iranian conservative critics to disparage Iranian films that allegedly convey a negative image of the country.

Definition

Some Iranian critics, most notably Massoud Farasati, believe that films portraying "a gloomy and dark image of social conditions under the

Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...

, or an exotic and primitive image of Iranians in rural settings" only seek to win awards in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film festivals. Some

Iranian diaspora The Iranian diaspora (collectively known as Iranian Expatriate, expats or expatriates) is the global population of Demographics of Iran, Iranian citizens or people of Iranian descent living outside Iran. In 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affair ...

and government officials also hold such a reading. Houshang Golmakani is among those who disagree with this interpretation. Some notable filmmakers in Iran, including

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database
is an Iranian ...

and

Jafar Panahi Jafar Panâhi (, ) (born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is known internationally for his contributions to Iranian cinema and has received numerous awards at major film festivals, including the Palme d'Or ...

, are accused of having such an agenda. Panahi said of the accusations in his 2015 film ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'', "There are realities they don't want shown... They don't want to show it, but they do it themselves".10 Great Directors Who Were Banned In Their Home Countries - Taste of Cinema
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References

Persian words and phrases Pejorative terms Political terminology of Iran Cinema of Iran 2000s neologisms {{Iran-culture-stub