Iranian pulls film from Denmark's festival

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 27 (UPI) -- Iranian director Majid Majidi has withdrawn "The Willow Tree" from Denmark's NatFilm Festival, it was reported Monday.

Majidi said he pulled his film from the competition that began Friday to protest the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Daily Variety reported Monday.

Festival organizers released a statement saying they regretted Majidi's withdrawl and replaced "The Willow Tree" with "The Forbidden Chapter" from Iranian director Fariborz Kamkari.

Denmark's 17th annual Natfilm Festival runs through April 2 in Copenhagen and other cities.

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