Mania Akbira’s first feature movie, “20 Fingers,” got around Iranian censors by shooting on digital video. Iranian Film Ventures Into Adultery, Lesbianism:
The only way to shoot in Iran on 35mm is to hire equipment from the central authorities, which means script approval and a government minder attending the shoot to ensure the script is adhered to. Shooting on digital video requires script approval, but no minder is sent along, so Akbari gained approval for one script and then shot another.
A digital video camera is small compared to a 35mm camera plus crew:
“The beauty about digital is that many people didn’t even notice we were shooting, and they thought it was a real fight; they respect you and leave you alone,” said Daneshmand. “On 35mm, you have a whole crew, and you have trucks and dollies and cranes. People know you’re shooting.”
Of course, it’s not just the Iranian government that isn’t ready for intimacy:
Akbari thinks her film’s subject matter would confuse and disturb an Iranian audience unused to seeing such topics discussed openly. “It’s not just the government that doesn’t want to admit that these things go on, but the general public,” she said.