Designing a model for the development of indigenous cinema in Iran with a Grounded theory Approach

Considering the significant capacities of local cinema and its strategic role in promoting the status of national cinema, the aim of the present study is to design a model for the development of local cinema in Iran. This research is qualitative in terms of strategy and data-based theory. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 experts in the field of cinema management, producers, and cinema activists, using purposive sampling. Data analysis was conducted based on the paradigmatic model of Strauss and Corbin and using theoretical coding. The focus group method was used for validation and the repeatability criterion was used to measure reliability. The findings show that the model for the development of local cinema in Iran has reached theoretical saturation in the form of 23 main categories, 115 subcategories, and 535 concepts. Causal conditions include comprehensive support, helping to increase the audience, existing capacities, and management; contextual conditions include cultural factors, government incentives, strengthening infrastructure, developing the domestic market, and attracting new audiences; The intervening conditions include social, transnational, policy-making, and supportive factors; the strategies include decentralized focus, policy and law formulation, capacity utilization, and hardware upgrades; and the outcomes include the development of local cinema, technological outcomes, and economic, cultural, artistic, and media development. In sum, local cinema can be the most important path to elevate the status of Iranian cinema and truly transform it into a dynamic art-industry.