Iran picks up new battle against ISwith commission of
At a dusty compound in Robat Karim, a town just outside Tehran, a thickly-bearded commander in military fatigues gives a rousing speech in Arabic to a group of armed young men ready for martyrdom. The black flag of the Islamic State (Isis) flutters in the background.
Suddenly, from among a crowd of onlookers, a man yells in Farsi: “Cut! If you say it right once, it’s a wrap. If not, we’ll be re-doing this a hundred times!”
This is the set of Songs of My Homeland, a film commissioned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and set for release in the coming weeks. IRIB is touting the film as a groundbreaking counter to Isis propaganda.
The target audience lies outside Iran. The dialogue is completely in Arabic and features mostly Lebanese, Egyptian and Syrian actors, although it will be dubbed in Farsi for Iranian moviegoers. Zeynab Mughniyeh, sister of the late Hezbollah operative Imad Mughniyeh, has a speaking role.
Most of the film was shot in south Lebanon, though some explosion scenes were filmed in Iran. The plot, a love story between a Muslim man and a Christian woman, sees Sara kidnapped by Isis while Nasser is away from the village arranging their wedding. Nasser must find a way to get her back. The filmmakers say the script is based on events in Rableh, Syria, probably referring to a 2012 incident in which rebels fighting the Bashar al-Assad regime reportedly kidnapped hundreds of mainly Christian villagers.
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