Lebanon lifts 'Persepolis' ban

Satrapi's film to open on one screen April 9

By ALI JAAFAR

The revolution will be televised in Lebanon after all. Authorities there have lifted the ban on "Persepolis," the animated pic based on co-helmer Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel about growing up during the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Pic was initially refused a permit to screen in Lebanon for fears that it might stir the anger of political opposition led by Iranian-backed Hezbollah. But that decision only raised the ire of pro-government politicos, who publicly decried the censor's decision.

Lebanon has been mired in a political crisis since the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, with the country deadlocked between pro-government forces backed by the West and the opposition backed by Syria and Iran.

Execs at Front Row Entertainment, who are handling the pic's release in the Mideast, even sent a pirated DVD of "Persepolis" bought from the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiye, a Hezbollah stronghold, to the country's censorship office to highlight the futility of blocking the theatrical release.

"Persepolis" will open April 9 in Lebanon on a single print, with hopes to expand if reaction is positive.

"I think it's the first time the censorship office has changed its mind like this," says Front Row topper Gianluca Chacra. "When 'The Da Vinci Code' got banned in Lebanon nobody said anything."