(Berlin) Organizers of the Berlin film festival urged Tehran on Thursday to let travel two Iranian filmmakers who, they say, have no right to leave their country while they are expected at the event this month.
The Berlinale, which begins on February 15, invited Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha to present their new film entitled My Favorite Cake (My favorite cakeEditor’s note), in competition for the Golden Bear, the highest distinction of the festival.
But the festival organizers said in a press release that they had learned that the directors had “been banned from traveling, had their passports confiscated and were being prosecuted for their work as artists and filmmakers”.
The two co-directors of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, said they were “shocked and dismayed” by this information.
They called on the Iranian authorities to “return their passports to the two filmmakers and to end all restrictions” which prevent them from attending the Berlinale.
“The Berlinale is a festival committed to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and artistic freedom for all people around the world,” declare the organizers.
Last October, the Iranian reformist daily Arman Melli wrote that Mme Moghaddam and Mr. Sanaeeha, who wanted to go to France, were blocked at the airport by the police and had their passports confiscated.
My Favorite Cake is the story of a woman who, as she ages, leaves her routine and breaks with the restrictions imposed by a deeply conservative society.
The film was partially subsidized by the Berlinale, as part of a program assisting directors from around the world.
The previous film by the two Iranian filmmakers, entitled Forgivenessa drama about the death penalty, was presented at the Berlinale in 2021.
The Berlinale, known for its political commitments, has a long tradition of supporting dissident Iranian filmmakers.
She thus awarded the Golden Bear to a certain number of them such as Asghar Farhadi (A separation), Jafar Panahi (Taxi) and Mohammad Rasoulof (The devil does not exist).
Both Panahi and Rasoulof were imprisoned and banned from traveling.