Someone doesn’t want Canadians to see “Iranium.”
The new documentary about the ramifications of a nuclear Iran was slated to make its Canadian debut Tuesday at the National Library and Archives in Ottawa. The screening got canceled following threats of protest and the deposit of a suspicious package at the building. The Iranian Embassy also requested the event get scrapped.
“That Iranian leaders would try to stifle free speech in North America perfectly displays the distinct difference in values instilled in Iran versus the West,” Alex Traiman, Director of “Iranium,” said in a statement. The film, narrated by Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, explores the Iranian political scene starting with the 1979 Islamic Revolution as well as the nation’s nuclear program.
Documentaries need all the promotional help they can get in the quest to find an audience, so the cynic in me sees this development as a positive for the film. And, in today’s media saturated culture, there’s simply no way from stopping content from reaching the masses.
In fact, the film will be available for free online streaming to the first 50,000 registrants at the movie’s official web site starting Feb. 8. “Iranium” will also be shown in select AMC Theaters starting on that date as well as some community centers nationwide.
It’s still a chilling turn of events, and it makes one wonder if similar protests – or worse – will follow.
Related posts:
on 
on 
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
To answer your question…it’s a little of both. Though I’m sure that very fact wasn’t the intent, which appears to be to stifle it from being shown.
I agree with you on streaming and content except that The Path to 9/11 has never seen a release on any platform except a first run. But other than that, yes. Today it is very difficult if not downright impossible to prevent releases.
However, every time I hear some political figure tell us how there is simply too much information available and it needs to be streamlined, I get worried. Any sane person would feel the same way.