Owj Arts and Media Organization explained

Owj Arts and Media Organization
Formation:	Spring 2011
Type:	Non-governmental organization
Headquarters:	Tehran, Iran
Parent Organization:	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Leader Title:	Executive Director
Leader Name:	Ehsan Mohammad-Hassani & Amirhossein Lotfollahzadeh^[1]
Purpose:	“Strategic policymaking in the field of arts within the framework of revolutionary discourse”

Owj Arts and Media Organization (Persian: سازمان هنری رسانه‌ای اوج; 'Owj' means Peak) is legally a media non-governmental organization^[2] in Iran, active in launching campaigns, film production and distribution.

Ideology and affiliation

The organization's works have been described as irritating government of Hassan Rouhani and reformists, anti-Iran deal,^[2] anti-American, and subject to Holocaust denial.

Owj organization seems reluctant to provide details about its owner(s) or corporate structure. Its website "About Us" section reads: "Perhaps more important and better than knowing when Owj was established and who were its founders, … it is better to introduce its nature and identity". The organization has been claimed to have ties with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In 2018, Owj's executive director and Ebrahim Hatamikia, a director working for the organization publicly admitted that the organization is run and funded by the IRGC.^[3]

Notable works

Billboard campaign

• “Be With Us, Be Safe” (2012–13): The high-context billboard, installed near the busy Valiasr square of Tehran, shows then-U.S. President Barack Obama standing next to Shemr—a shi'ite villain—and offering a letter of protection to the reader. A BBC Persian-style caption reads “Be with us, be safe”.^[4]
• “The US Government Styles Honesty [sic, Persian title: ''American Honesty'']” (2013): While nuclear negotiations were ongoing, several posters were installed in Tehran streets, displaying Iranian and American diplomats sitting at the table, with the American side wearing a suit with military pants and boots and pointing a gun towards the Iranian negotiator, who looked like Mohammad Javad Zarif. The billboards were soon removed after becoming controversial.^[5]
• “A Single Blossom Does Not Bring Spring: More Children, A Happier Life” (2013–14): Billboards carrying the slogan began to pop up along major highways, targeting the former slogan of family planning in Iran: “Fewer children, better life” and encouraging more children in the family. The posters were heavily criticized for their view on role of mother in family.^[1]
• “Know The Shemr of Your Time” (2014)

Short animation

• Becharkh ta Becharkhim (2015): Roughly translated as 'two can play that game', the animation aired on state-run TV's children's channel IRIB Children symbolically narrates the "honorific" Iran's nuclear program and the "desperate" negotiations from its own point-of-view. The animations depictates Mr. Sam as the villain and characters loosely based on Iranian figures, who are members of the family of "Agha Joon" (Khamenei), such as the compromiser "Uncle Hassan" (Rouhani), the persevering "Uncle Mahmoud" (Ahmadinejad) and the coward "Uncle Mohammad" (Khatami). The animation sparked controversy in April 2016.^[6]

Documentary

• Roaring Waters (2013): Directed by Lebanese filmmaker Mohammad Dabouq about power of Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution^[7]

Feature film

• Bodyguard (2016)^[6]
• Standing in the Dust (2016)
• The Holy Cast (2016)
• Never (2016)
• Damascus Time (2018)^[3]
• The Lost Strait (2018)^[3]
• Naela (TBA)
• Tayyeb Khan (TBA)
• Conspiracy Theory (TBA)
• 23 People (2019)
• Exodus (2020)^[8]

Festival

• 1st Down With USA Great Award (2013)^[9]
• 3rd International Holocaust Cartoon Competition (2016): co-organized with Sarcheshmeh Cultural Center^[10]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mehrnaz. Samimi. Iran's billboard guide to family planning teaches 'the more, the merrier'. Al-Monitor. 27 December 2013. 1 May 2016.
2. Web site: Reza. Nasri. Responding to Iran's 'moderates' and the Holocaust. The Hill. 15 May 2016. 20 May 2016.
3. Web site: Zahra. Alipour. IRGC funding for cinema stirs debate in Iran. Al-Monitor. 15 March 2018. 15 March 2018.
4. Web site: Roland . Elliott Brown. Iran's Obama billboard: what it really means . The Guardian. 20 January 2013. 1 May 2016.
5. Web site: Yeganeh . Torbati. Iranian capital takes down some anti-American posters. Reuters. 27 October 2013. 1 May 2016.
6. Web site: Nuclear Animation Raises Controversy. Iranian Diplomacy. 17 April 2016. 1 May 2016.
7. Web site: Lebanese filmmaker produces documentary on Iran's naval power from enemies' view. Fars News Agency. 24 September 2013. 1 May 2016. 14 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160814155403/http://en.farsnews.com/print.aspx?nn=13920702001553. dead.
8. Web site: Faghihi . Rohollah . Iran controversial director's new political drama lambasted by moderates . . 18 February 2020.
9. Web site: Joanna . Paraszczuk. Iran Analysis: Tehran To Host 1st "Down With America!" Award. EA Worldview. 24 October 2013. 20 May 2016.
10. News: Ishaan . Tharoor. Iran revs up for its latest Holocaust cartoon contest. Washington Post. 12 May 2016. 20 May 2016.