Love’s Turn

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Zhaleh Hajibashi

Nawbat-i asheqi (Love's Turn), a 1990 film by Makhmalbaf, provoked an intense public debate about movie morality, specifically women's control of their own sexuality. Screened at the ninth annual Fajr Film Festival in Tehran, Love's Turn drew a shocked response from many conservative members of the audience who had been among Makhmalbaf's staunchest supporters. Love's Turn was attacked for its presentation of a female character who pursues an extramarital affair. But Makhmalbaf was guilty of a more serious offense than showing sexuality: he dared to advocate moral relativism. It is an indication of the volatile nature of art in the Islamic Republic that the controversy surrounding this film drew the Parliament, the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, the Press, and the filmmakers themselves into heated discussions about the government regulation of art, film in particular.1 The Farabi Foundation which funds Iranian films is an official government organization, so the appearance of a film like Love's Turn caused a clamor not only because Makhmalbaf was out of line, but because its production was evidence that the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and the Farabi Foundation had relaxed their control of artistic content. Mohammed Khatami-the moderate elected President of Iran in 1998-- headed the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance at that time and did his best to justify the screening of Makhmalbaf's films. However, the Ministry was eventually pressured to ban Love's Turn; not surprisingly, Khatami was not reappointed. The controversy surrounding Love's Turn suffices to show both the distance Makhmalbaf has traversed from where he began and the fickle nature of the Iranian cultural establishment.