Anti-Censorship Film “Behind the Electronic Curtain” to Premier in DC

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran announces the release of “Behind the Electronic Curtain,” a new documentary film by Tara Kangarlou on the crushing of free speech in Iran. The film will premier in Washington DC, where the director hopes it will have a significant effect on policymakers. The premier will be followed by a panel of experts on Iran discussing the film and the issue of censorship in Iran. The Campaign will announce the details of the venue and date of the panel on its website.

“Behind the Electronic Curtain” documents the effects of unrelenting censorship on Iranian society. Through the stories of the many journalists in Iran who have been imprisoned for doing their job, the film provides a glimpse into a country where people from all walks of life are deprived of their right to freedom of speech.

The “electronic curtain” refers to the Iranian government’s blanket control over all communication and access to information. Over the past five years, Iran has employed one of the most sophisticated filtering systems in the world. It controls Internet service providers, hunts and imprisons activists via the Internet police, and uses thousands of operators to monitor web content, where it can slow or shut down the Internet and satellite broadcasts at will. Iran ranks first worldwide in the imprisonment of journalists. According to Kangarlou, the film aims to portray the humanity that is imprisoned behind this “electronic curtain” and the dangers that result from this isolation, not just for the Iranian people, but for all those who lack the fundamental right of freedom of speech.

“Behind the Electronic Curtain” was directed and produced by journalist Tara Kangarlou, who has worked with NBC-L.A., NPR, and other national news outlets. She has reported and produced breaking news stories, investigative pieces, and print and broadcast features. She received her Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the Annenberg School of Journalism at USC, and her Bachelor’s Degree in English and World Literature from UCLA. Born and raised in Iran, Kangarlou moved to California with her family when she was 17 years old. “Behind the Electronic Curtain” grew out of her own experiences with censorship, when the Iranian government banned her collection of poetry from print in 2009. According to Kangarlou, “Reporting the news objectively is a privilege and a responsibility that is often taken for granted in free societies; my experience growing up in Iran makes me appreciate the true value of story-telling and the beauty of being the voice of the silent.”