Comments on: “Blacklists,” Caveh Zahedi and Thom Powers

By: What Are the Most "Dangerous" Films of 2012? | United Arab Emirates News

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:33:52 +0000

[...] and irresponsible work. In a letter to the director reprinted in Filmmaker magazine recently amidst a back and forth between Zahedi [...]

By: What Are the Most "Dangerous" Films of 2012? | Film School Rejects

What Are the Most "Dangerous" Films of 2012? | Film School Rejects — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:01:50 +0000

[...] Miami; Montclair; DOC NYC), it was an extremely dangerous work. In a letter to the director reprinted in Filmmaker magazine recently amidst a back and forth between Zahedi and Powers via their own websites, Powers wrote: [...]

By: A Conversation With Caveh Zahedi (THE SHEIK AND I) – Hammer to Nail

A Conversation With Caveh Zahedi (THE SHEIK AND I) – Hammer to Nail — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:22:53 +0000

[...] Caveh Zahedi has always been a provocateur, and has never shied away from presenting himself in an unlikable manner in his films, resulting in often divisive reactions from his audience. His new film, The Sheik and I, may be his most provocative and divisive to date. Originally commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation (located in the United Arab Emirates) for their Biennial celebration, the current theme of which was “art as a subversive act.” Zahedi was given three constraints: no nudity, no making fun of the prophet Mohammed, and no making fun of the Sheik of Sharjah. Zahedi found the first two acceptable, but couldn’t get past the third: couldn’t he just make fun of the Sheik a little bit? The resulting film is a self-reflexive documentary about the making and unmaking of his Biennial project, as he pushes to see how far he can go in breaking the third rule. The film was subsequently banned by the Foundation, but Zahedi was able to acquire the rights to show it in the U.S., where it has now attracted controversy as well. (Zahedi’s short film on that subject, I Was Blacklisted by Thom Powers, can be seen on YouTube here. A comprehensive piece by Filmmaker Magazine editor Scott Macaulay is here.) [...]

By: More Controversy Over The Sheik and I : One Caribbean Radio | The Global Mix

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:22:47 +0000

[...] of filmmaking ethics and reckless behavior toward people who put their faith in you,” Powers wrote in an email to Zahedi. “The film is framed as championing artistic freedom, but rather than bearing the [...]

By: Caveh Zahedi

Caveh Zahedi — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:27:00 +0000

1) Janet Pierson wasn’t the only programmer that Thom Powers contacted about my film.

2) Thom Powers claims he only contacted three journalists. But I was told by more than three journalists that they had been contacted by Thom Powers about my film.

By: The Abuse of Power(s) | Cavehzahedi

The Abuse of Power(s) | Cavehzahedi — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 14:58:15 +0000

[...] Zahedi: That’s a bold-faced lie. He never said anything about not showing the film “in its current state.” But don’t take my word for it. You can check it out for yourself. Filmmaker magazine has since published the letter. [...]

By: “Blacklisting,” Free Speech, and, Well, Huh | POV Blog | PBS

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 19:07:40 +0000

[...] exchange has set off a range of commentary and reaction: Filmmaker Magazine, IndieWire, Peter Rinaldi, and [...]

By: ekim

ekim — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:20:00 +0000

this is stupid, really really stupid. who cares about caveh zahedi and what he does? not many people so why in the hell is this being made into a big deal? his filmmaking is amateurish at best and pretentious at worst.

it is however good to get a peak behind the curtain and see how the film festival gatekeepers act behind closed doors. i’m sure childish crap like this happens all the time.

By: FBH

FBH — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:10:00 +0000

This is a knot of self indulgent bullshit from front to end. It all boils down to this: if you hurt or kill someone over a movie you’re the asshole. Period. The responsibility for that damage rests squarely and completely on your fucking shoulders.

By: Peter Rinaldi

Peter Rinaldi — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 06:50:00 +0000

What this comes down to is Mr. Powers’ lack of faith in the people he wrote to. He must’ve felt like they could not weigh this all themselves, so he had to school them. It’s embarrassing that he doesn’t see these emails as crossing the line. That does not include the email he wrote to Caveh, which I think was a valid and important letter to write to the maker of this film. But when you write these other letters to journalists and programmers, then there is a violation. If I wrote these same letters to those people it would not be a violation, because no one cares what I think. No one needs to stay on my good side. But really and truly, if the following name was not involved in this picture, Thom Powers would not have gone so far down this road — – Rasha Salti. For the simple reason that this film paints his colleague in a bad light, in my opinion, that is enough to say he crossed the line in writing to these people. That alone puts a lot of messy stuff on this whole thing.

By: “Blacklisting,” free speech, and, well, huh | Documentary Site

“Blacklisting,” free speech, and, well, huh | Documentary Site — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 03:38:10 +0000

[...] exchange has set off a range of commentary and reaction: Filmmaker Magazine, IndieWire, Peter Rinaldi, and [...]

By: Macaulay Discusses Sheik & I “Blacklist” Accusation With Filmmaker Caveh Zahedi And Programmer Thom Powers « Movie City News

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:38:03 +0000

[...] “I wanted to focus attention on putting the subjects of your film in harm’s way, and somehow it’s turned into a debate over whether I have too much power in the documentary industry.” Macaulay Discusses Sheik & I “Blacklist” Accusation With Filmmaker Caveh Zahedi And … [...]