CAIRO: The controversial movie “Mohamed” has been selected to represent Iranian filmography at the 2016 Oscars, the picture’s production company announced in a Saturday statement.
Mohamed, a $40 million production partially financed by the Iranian government, was chosen out of 6 other movies, according to the statement.
The film presents the childhood of Prophet Mohamed as the first of three films to be produced by Iran on the life of Islam’s Messenger. The film does not include information disputed by Sunnis and Shiites, director of the picture Majid Majidy repeatedly stated.
The production, however, is opposed by both Saudi Arabia and Egypt’s Al-Azhar on grounds that visual depiction of prophets degrades their status.
But Majidy told Al-Alam Arabic language Iranian channel on Friday that such objections are “political,” and he invited Al-Azhar scholars to watch the movie then come around and discuss it with its producers.
The director said the two-hour movie confronts insults directed at the Prophet, posing the question of what Muslims do before accusations against him.
He called on Muslim scholars and movie makers to hold a dialogue with Iranians on the movie and contribute to the “tremendous achievement.”