Dr. Milad Azimi – Hamshahri – February 9, 2020
Ms. Niki Karimi’s film, Atabai, was screened at the Fajr Film Festival. I have not seen the film, but I watched the entire press conference. What caught my attention was the uproar over the Turkish language used in the film. A reporter asked why, since Persian is the official language of the country, an Iranian film should be watched with Persian subtitles. Mr. Hadi Hejazifar, one of the actors who jokingly called himself a “six and eight-cylinder Turk,” called the reporter’s question “fascist.” However, he apologized at the end of the session for his harshness. This shows how sensitive, delicate, and inflammatory this issue is and how it can easily become a source of conflict, hostility, scandal, slander, and division.
Actually, the screening of a film in Turkish at the festival is beneficial for national interests and national unity, and it is a wise act. I believe Ms. Karimi is right that there has been some neglect in this regard. Political hostility and scheming are a separate matter. It must be accepted that the dialects and languages of Iran’s ethnic groups are not rivals, adversaries, or enemies of the Persian language. It is neither useful nor possible to try to strengthen Persian by denying or weakening the languages and dialects of ethnic groups. Naturally, as people love their mother, they also love the language their mother spoke to them.
Persian is a lingua franca so that we can communicate and understand each other; it also carries a large part of the shared culture of the Iranian nation. Great literary masterpieces have been created in this language, which is a source of pride. Speaking Persian should be a cause and prelude to empathy, not a tool for dispute, hatred, and division.
Mr. Hejazifar, who spoke so passionately in defense of the Turkish language, spoke Persian at the press conference, and we understood him. Moreover, it is the right of the director and screenwriter to freely choose the language of their work according to their artistic needs. Persian should be a supportive friend, not a burden. Those who set Persian against the languages and dialects of ethnic groups do not serve the Persian language. Those who build walls and cages from Persian do not serve it. People’s love and passion for their local language, dialect, folklore, and customs do not lead to the disintegration of Iran. Poverty, corruption, tyranny, discrimination, and injustice are what turn people’s hearts cold toward Iran and its future and fate.
Link to the original article in Persian in Hamshahri Newspaper:
زبان ترکی در جشنواره فارسی | هیاهو در نشست فیلم نیکی کریمی