Dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has fled Iran after receiving a hefty prison sentence and called for support from the international film community, ahead of the premiere of his latest feature in Competition at Cannes.
The Iranian auteur has issued a statement for the first time since receiving a sentence of eight years in prison, flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property. The sentence was imposed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court for public statements, films and documentaries made by Rasoulof, which it considers “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security”.
It was imposed less than a week before the start of Cannes, which opens tomorrow, where Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig is set to receive its world premiere on May 25 – the final day of this year’s festival.
Speaking from an undisclosed location in Europe, Rasoulof said he had made “a long and complicated journey” out of his home country after needing to “choose between prison and leaving Iran”. “With a heavy heart, I chose exile,” he said, confirming he did so “secretly” as the Islamic Republic has held his passport since 2017.
See below for statement in full
It has followed weeks of pressure on the filmmaker by Iranian authorities to withdraw his film from the festival. Actors and crew on the production were summoned and questioned by authorities at the end of April, some of whom have been banned from leaving Iran, according to Rasoulof’s lawyer Babak Paknia.
The director addressed this and claimed that the families of his actors had been “threatened”; his cinematographer’s office has been raided; and the film’s sound engineer had been blocked from travelling to Canada.
“Before the Islamic Republic’s intelligence services were informed about my film’s production, a number of the actors managed to leave Iran,” said Rasoulof. “However, many of the actors and agents of the film are still in Iran and the intelligence system is pressuring them. They have been put through lengthy interrogations.
“The families of some of them were summoned and threatened… During the interrogations of the film crew, the intelligence forces asked them to pressure me to withdraw the film from the Cannes [Film] Festival. They were trying to convince the film crew that they were not aware of the film’s story and that they had been manipulated into participating in the project.”
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig centres on an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family.
Support
Calling for support, the filmmaker added: “The world’s cinema community must ensure effective support for the makers of such films. Freedom of speech should be defended, loudly and clearly. People who courageously and selflessly confront censorship instead of supporting it are reassured of the importance of their actions by the support of international film organisations.”
On Saturday, Tribeca Festival co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal issued a statement on the sentencing of Rasoulof. “We express our profound condemnation and deepest concern over the sentencing of the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker, Mohammad Rasoulof,” they said.
Condemning the sentence, which they branded “a grievous violation of human rights and artistic freedom,” the joint statement added: “Mohammad Rasoulof’s courageous works have consistently sought to shine a light on societal issues, offering invaluable insights through a cinematic lens and underscores his unwavering commitment to the pursuit of truth and the promotion of human rights through artistic expression.
“Art is not a crime; it’s dialogue with humanity. Today, we stand in solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof, echoing his courage and commitment to these truths.”
Conversely, Iran’s Culture Minister, Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili, has condemned the film’s “underground” production without authorisation and warned that his ministry, along with unnamed legal institutions, will actively pursue such “violations” wherever detected.
Censorship and persecution
Rasoulof has faced censorship challenges in Iran for nearly 20 years and previously served prison time for the critical eye that his films cast on the consequences of life under authoritarian rule.
He won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes with A Man Of Integrity in 2017 but after attending Telluride in the US with the film in September that year, his passport was confiscated on his return to Iran. In July 2019, he was convicted by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Iran to one year in prison and a two-year ban on leaving the country, accused of “gathering and collusion against national security and of propaganda against the system” – a verdict he appealed.
The travel ban meant he was unable to attend the Berlinale in February 2020, where his film There Is No Evil won the Golden Bear, and the following month was sentenced to a year in prison for producing “propaganda against the system” and was banned from making films and travelling abroad for two years.
He also served jail time in Tehran from July 2022 to February 2023 for speaking out on social media against the repression of civil protestors in Iran. When released for health reasons, a ban on leaving the country remained in place and Rasoulof was prevented from attending Cannes last year, where he had been invited to sit on the jury for the Un Certain Regard section.
While unconfirmed, his move out of Iran brings hope of an appearance at Cannes.
Statement by Mohammad Rasoulof (May 12, 2024)
“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey.
“About a month ago, my lawyers informed me that my eight-year prison sentence was confirmed in the court of appeal and would be implemented on short notice. Knowing that the news of my new film would be revealed very soon, I knew that without a doubt, a new sentence would be added to these eight years. I didn’t have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly.
“Of course, I strongly object to the unjust recent ruling against me that forces me into exile. However, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic has issued so many cruel and strange decisions that I do not feel it is my place to complain about my sentence. Death sentences are being executed as the Islamic Republic has targeted the lives of protesters and civil rights activists. It’s hard to believe, but right now as I’m writing this, the young rapper, Toomaj Salehi is held in prison and has been sentenced to death. The scope and intensity of repression has reached a point of brutality where people expect news of another heinous government crime every day. The criminal machine of the Islamic Republic is continuously and systematically violating human rights.
“Before the Islamic Republic’s intelligence services were informed about my film’s production, a number of the actors managed to leave Iran. However, many of the actors and agents of the film are still in Iran and the intelligence system is pressuring them. They have been put through lengthy interrogations. The families of some of them were summoned and threatened. Due to their appearance in this movie, court cases were filed against them, and they were banned from leaving the country. They raided the office of the cinematographer, and all his work equipment was taken away. They also prevented the film’s sound engineer from traveling to Canada. During the interrogations of the film crew, the intelligence forces asked them to pressure me to withdraw the film from the Cannes Festival. They were trying to convince the film crew that they were not aware of the film’s story and that they had been manipulated into participating in the project.
“Despite the vast limitations I and my colleagues and friends faced while making the film, I tried to achieve a cinematic narrative that is far from the narrative dominated by the censorship in the Islamic Republic, and closer to its reality. I have no doubt that restricting and suppressing freedom of expression cannot be justified even if it becomes a spur for creativity, but when there is no way, a way must be made.
“The world’s cinema community must ensure effective support for the makers of such films. Freedom of speech should be defended, loudly and clearly. People who courageously and selflessly confront censorship instead of supporting it are reassured of the importance of their actions by the support of international film organizations. As I know from personal experience, it can be an invaluable help for them to continue their vital work.
“Many people helped to make this film. My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being.”
No comments yet