The screening of ‘COUP 53’ in Manhattan

PayvandNews – After ten protracted, nonetheless, scrupulous years of research and interviews, and arduous scripts writing and productions, COUP 53, the historical two hour chilling thriller documentary of the British MI6 and the American CIA’s bloody covert actions against IRAN, which led to the overthrow of the first and perhaps the last ever democratically elected prime minster Dr. Mohammad Mosadegh, went on SVA Theatre silver screen in Manhattan on October 18.

Exhilarated by the anxious prospects of watching new evidence, we drove in from 75 miles away to arrive two hours early; however, we note there was no guests until later when they started trickling in as late as 6:45 for the 7:30 show. The director and producer Taghi Amirani — sleep deprived but still on adrenaline rush — commenced the introduction and acknowledgement of all those who had played a crucial role toward the film production at 7:30. The captivating packed theatre of over 500 patrons privately invited from across the US, was primarily comprised of mainstream Americans from all walks of life, mainly though, professors and scholars, film critiques and syndicate distributors, and other fine artists, only to be interspersed with a trickle of Iranian expatriates and currently naturalized Americans. 

Taghi Amirani’s reenactment of COUP 53, loaded with never seen before evidence, is edited and co-written by multi-Oscar-winning Walter Murch, the legendary film editor of Apocalypse Now and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Co-producer is Paul Zaentz (The Talented Mr. Ripley). Although O. Derbyshire the British MI6 super-agent in charge of the Mosadegh overthrow was supposed to appear in an earlier 14 hour documentary theEnd of the British Empire , his quotes in that film script was mysteriously redacted last minute.  So Ralph Fiennes in COUP 53 provides voice over for this mysterious but most crucial MI6 operative, unraveled by the filmmakers. The film draws on a large compendium of documents now declassified mostly by the CIA; however, lots of documents not only in the U.S. but even more so in the UK remain classified or have simply disappeared.

Historians in retrospect, recognize the Iranian coup d’etat, orchestrated by the U.S. and UK to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister Mosadegh (who had nationalized Iran’s oil industry) and reinstall the reluctant Shah to return home, a pivotal move which has had a long-lasting impact on regional and global geopolitics. The COUP 53 inspired many other third world nations to drag themselves out of the yoke of the British Colonialism so to become independent and supposedly take hold of their resources. The COUP also laid the foundation for the onset of the cold war, when the US exerted the role of the most influential imperialist neo-colonialist for capitalistic exploitation of human and natural resources (mainly fossil fuels and precious minerals) and brain drains worldwide. The southwest Asia-North Africa (misnamed as the Middle East) corridor has not been the same any longer since. 

 After centuries of the so-called “orientalists” from the Occident (west) have written about Iran vis-a-vis Southwest Asia and beyond through their ulterior motives and self-centered lens, it is refreshing to note that “orientalists” born in the Orient (east) whether or not they still reside there or have since moved involuntarily to the west, and as typified by Taghi Amirani, to write or eloquently produce far more objective scholarships that provide a substantially more accurate portrayal of historical events. It is hoped that the era of the British referring to anyone beyond the CanalLa Manche, especially the farther east, as wogsis behind humanity.This conjures up astringently melancholic memories of Iranians post 1908 oil discovery there, the biggest oil refinery, built, operated, and benefited by the British Petroleum and later Anglo American consortium drew tens of thousands British and later Americans and their families into the region.as middle class, they lived the most luxurious lives and garnished the steepest salaries that was adjusted for living in savage zones. By and large, the Brits did not even treat as wogs, sub-humans, the same as the “N” purgative if not worse, or even animals but simply they did not recognize their ever expansive butlers, gardeners, laborers, etc. This again conjures up the period 1914-1919 WWI, when it is recorded that half of the Iranian population, that is, up to ten million were annihilated by the British food embargo and famine, as well as lethal spread of anthrax among the Persian and Iranian lambs and humans, respectively.

Deja vu all over again, have you not noticed that a while back if a conglomerate or a government minister in the west coughed, that the ubiquitous constipations in oil/gas rich region led to a huge rise in prices of these commodities and a sharp drop in stocks, whereas post the unilateral preemptive wars of aggression in the same region an all-out diarrhea and bleeding would merely bring the oil/gas prices down and stocks up? 

After the expected proliferation of the film COPU 53 on silver screens in the U.S.A. and North America among other countries, it is hoped that its DVD, Blue ray and Netflix/Hulu, etc. versions find its way deeply into every household and university classrooms and libraries.

… Payvand News – 10/22/19 … —