after clandestinely fleeing Iran, director Mohammad Rasoulof calls on world cinema for help

His film is in the running for the Palme d’Or, but he does not yet know if he himself will be able to make it to the Cannes Film Festival.

Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who clandestinely fled Iran for an undisclosed location in Europe, implored world cinema on Tuesday May 14 to provide “strong support” to the threatened directors, in a press release. The director, sentenced to several years in prison in his country, says “fear for safety and well-being” teams from his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, remained in Iran. His film is in the running for the Palme d’Or, but he does not yet know if he himself will be able to make it to the Cannes Film Festival.

“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey”testifies in the press release this great voice of Iranian cinema, winner of a Golden Bear in Berlin in 2020 for The Devil does not exist.

The 51-year-old filmmaker, who wants to represent an Iran “far from the narrative dominated by censorship (and) closer to reality”, explains that he decided to leave when he learned that his sentence, “unfair”eight years in prison including five years applicable, confirmed on appeal, would be carried out “as soon as possible”. He feared additional conviction following the presentation of his next film. “I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile,” he relates. His passport having been confiscated since 2017, he had to “leave Iran secretly”. The director is alarmed by the situation of his teams remaining in Iran. “The criminal machine of the Islamic Republic continually and systematically violates human rights,” he denounces.

“The scale and intensity of the repression has reached such a level of brutality that people expect to learn every day of a new heinous crime committed by the government.”

Mohammad Rasoulof, filmmaker

Communicated

To protect himself and his loved ones from regime reprisals, the director kept secret “the identities of the cast and crew, as well as plot and storyline details.” Actors “managed to leave Iran” in time, rejoices Mohammad Rasoulof, but many other members of the team are still there “and the intelligence services put pressure on them” notably by “long interrogations”.

“The global film community must provide strong support to directors,” he implores. “Freedom of expression must be defended loud and clear… As I know from personal experience, this support can be invaluable to them in continuing their vital work.”