Broken Frontier

Iran protested the Cannes Film Festival screening of "Persepolis," an animated adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel about growing up in Iran after the Islamic revolution, a semiofficial news agency reported Sunday.

The film, from Sony Pictures Classics, is competing for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, and has its official screening on Wednesday.

A letter of protest was sent to the French Embassy in Tehran by the Iran Farabi Foundation, a government-affiliated body in charge of festivals in Iran, according to the ISNA news agency, which provided the text of the letter.

"This year the Cannes Film Festival, in an unconventional and unsuitable act, has chosen a movie about Iran that has presented an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious Islamic Revolution in some of its parts," the letter read.

The letter said the inclusion of the film would damage the reputation of the festival. Cannes organizers said they had no immediate comment.

ISNA did not indicate when the letter was sent but did report that Iranian authorities had not yet received a response.

Attempts to contact officials at the French Embassy in Tehran on Sunday went unanswered.

Earlier this year, the Warner Bros. movie "300" angered Iranians who said the Greeks-vs-Persians action flick insulted their ancient culture and provokes animosity against Iran. The film was seen as an attack on Persian history, a source of pride for Iranians across the political spectrum, including critics of the current Islamic government.