The animated film, which won the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was a nominee at the Oscars, has been banned in Lebanon. Authorities are worried that the movie may exacerbate the fragile political situation there. Lebanese authorities would also like to avoid offending Pro-Iranian members of the Lebanese opposition, notably the Hezbollah, reported Variety.
The movie has been approved by the United Arab Emirates. It is an adaptation of a the critically acclaimed graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. In this memoir, she recounts growing up during the Iranian revolution in 1979. The book has been criticized by Iranian officials.
The American drama Syriana, by Stephen Gaghan, starring George Clooney, who played a CIA agent, has also been censored in Lebanon since 2005 for similar reasons.