![]() Talebzadeh made his name making documentaries about Iran's 1980-88 war against Iraq, an important genre in the country's post-revolutionary cinema.īut such weighty themes, and his latest film on Jesus, compete with domestic gangster thrillers and sugary boy-meets-girl love stories which continue to draw the biggest audiences in the Islamic Republic. The director is also keen to emphasise the links between Jesus and one of the most important figures in Shiite Islam, the Imam Mahdi - said to have disappeared 12 centuries ago but whose "return" to Earth has been a key tenet of Mr Ahmadinejad presidency. "By making this film I wanted to make a bridge between Christianity and Islam, to open the door for dialogue since there is much common ground between Islam and Christianity," he said. "It is fascinating for Christians to know that Islam gives such devotion to and has so much knowledge about Jesus," Talebzadeh told AFP. Talebzadeh insists it aims to bridge differences between Christianity and Islam, despite the stark divergence from Christian doctrine about Christ's final hours on earth. It is about to be recycled in a major 20-episode spin-off to be broadcast on state-run national television this year. The film - funded by state broadcasting - faded off the billboards, but is far from dead. "But it was Sunday and the security at the gate received the film and the brochure and promised to deliver it." The Iranian never heard back.Įven in Iran, Jesus, The Spirit of God had a low-key reception, playing to moderate audiences in five Tehran cinemas during Ramadan in October. Talebzadeh says he even went to Gibson's mansion in Malibu, California, to show him his film. I mean that it is a well-crafted movie, but the story is wrong - it was not like that," he said, referring to two key differences: Islam sees Jesus as a prophet, not the son of God and does not believe he was crucified. ![]() ![]() He has praised that film as admirable, but quite simply "wrong". Nader Talebzadeh sees his movie, Jesus, the Spirit of God," as an Islamic answer to Western productions like Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ. A director who shares the ideas of Iran's hardline President has produced what he says is the first film giving an Islamic view of Jesus Christ, in a bid to show "common ground" between Muslims and Christians.
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