Home Video Network

Up to almost a decade ago, old Iranian and foreign films was the only thing which was supplied through home video network, which were offered on CDs. People were not willing to watch them as they had been produced years ago and their choice was not interesting to film buffs. Publicity for the network was so unremarkable that people mostly ignored such products. The situation was the same until Visual Media Institute came into being to take charge of distributing films through a totally new process. This allowed for more Iranian and foreign films to enter the network and publicity became more orderly. Since three years ago, they bought licenses for distributing feature films as their public screening ended and those films went into people’s homes on CDs or DVDs shortly after public screening. People’s enthusiasm was so high that even supermarkets started selling films. Although special stores selling films protested to that trend, but Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced that there was no reason why supermarkets should not sell videos.
  On the other hand, may companies were established to present more recent and more important films. One of their innovations was to order videos to be produced just for the home network. Most of such films are comedies made using less known actors at a low cost. At present, almost one such film is produced per week and those which are more comic are welcomed more enthusiastically by people. One of those companies then was given a permit by Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to make a series which cast a group of the most renowned Iranian actors. It was called Icy Heart and features Hamid Farrokhnejad, Elnaz Shakerdoust, Hamid Goudarzi, Hamed Behdad, Baran Kowsari and Nasrin Moqanlou. The first CD showing two first installments of the series has been recently marketed and subsequent installments will come out soon. Another company announced that it was planning to a series similar to Lost featuring famous actors in a supernatural story. Therefore, apart from cinema and television which were main visual media to present visual works, a new visual medium has been born which is producing new films and series.