OTTAWA - An Ottawa audience whooped in support of free speech on Sunday as a film about Iran's nuclear ambition finally had its national capital premiere.
Heritage Minister James Moore said the screening of "Iranium" sent a clear message to the Iranian embassy that they didn't get to decide what movies get shown in Canada.
The hour-long documentary traces the evolution of Iran's nuclear program and according to press materials, includes interviews with over 25 people.
The Free Thinking Film Society had booked Library and Archives Canada's theatre to show the film in January.
But the institution cancelled after receiving a letter of protest from the Iranian embassy.
A public outcry ensued, including a stern admonishment from Moore, who counts the library as part of his portfolio.
He said that he'd also received a letter from the Iranian embassy before the original screen date.
After Moore demanded the film be shown, the Library agreed but then cancelled again after receiving threatening phone calls and suspicious envelopes.
It was then rescheduled for Sunday.
Around a dozen Ottawa police and other security personnel surrounded the downtown Library and Archives building on Sunday night and all patrons had to pass through security.
A spokesman for Library and Archives declined to discuss specific security measures but said they were comfortable with allowing the film to go ahead.
Even the organizers of the event said they weren't privy to all the details.
Society president Fred Litwin agreed there was certain irony in the fact that people in the Middle East are currently protesting for democracy, yet a film like this could get cancelled in Canada.
"The saddest point was that I got emails from Iranian-Canadians who were saying, you know, I left Iran to escape this tyranny and all of the sudden they are back in the capital of Canada," he said.
"This is outrageous."
Litwin said the film's screening should not be considered a political victory for the Tories nor about Iranian-Canadian relations.
"This is about free speech," he said.
Moore told the audience the screening sent a clear message to the Iranian embassy.
"In a building a stone's throw away from the Parliament of Canada, you will not tell us what we will and will not watch," he said, to raucous applause from the crowd.
In an earlier press conference Sunday, Moore called the initial decision by the Library to call off the screening "crazy."
"This is a decision that will be remembered for some time," he said.
