After being sentenced to eight years in prison, award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof says he fled to Europe shortly before the premiere of his latest film at the Cannes Film Festival.
“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated trip,” Rasoulof said in a statement dated Sunday and distributed Monday by press agents.
IRAN SENTENCES THE DIRECTOR WINNING THE PRIZE IN CANNES TO PRISON
Last week, Rasoulof's lawyer told The Associated Press that the director had been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging and confiscation of property by the Islamic Republic. Rasoulof's lawyer, Babak Paknia, said the filmmaker was being punished for making films and signing statements.
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof poses during a photocall for the film 'The Immigrant' at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, on May 24, 2013. Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and caning just before his planned trip to the Cannes Film Festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/François Mori)
Iranian authorities have not yet recognized Rasoulof's sentence and there was no immediate comment on his departure. Rasoulof and other artists had co-signed a letter urging authorities to lay down their arms amid protests over the 2022 building collapse that killed at least 29 people in the southwestern city of Abadan.
Rasoulof, 51, is the latest artist to be targeted in a widening crackdown on all dissent in Iran following years of mass protests, including over the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. His 2020 film “There Is No Evil” won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2020.
Rasoulof said the prison sentence came before he revealed his latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” That film premieres in competition at Cannes on May 24.
“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,” Rasoulof said. “I did not have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison or leaving Iran. With great regret, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly “.
Rasoulof said he strongly opposed his ruling, but noted that many others had been sentenced to death as a result of the crackdown.
“The scope and intensity of the repression has reached a point of brutality where people expect news of another heinous government crime every day,” Rasoulof said. “The criminal machinery of the Islamic Republic continually and systematically violates human rights.”
Rasoulof is currently in an undisclosed location. It is unclear whether he will attend the premiere of his film in Cannes.
“We are very happy and relieved that Mohammad has arrived safely in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique and Parallel45. “We hope that he will be able to attend the Cannes premiere of 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig' despite all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.”
Shortly before the release of Rasoulof's statement, Thierry Fremaux, artistic director of Cannes, said that “the real question is about his presence” when asked about “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” at a pre-festival press conference. on Monday.
“The festival speaks through cinema,” said Fremaux. He described “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” as about “how insidiously the Iranian dictatorship infiltrates families.”
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Rasoulof also detailed the pressure placed on his collaborators on the film. Some actors left Iran before the production was released, he said. Others have been questioned and summoned to question their families. Rasoulof said the offices of his cinematographer were raided.
“A lot of people helped make this movie,” he said. “My thoughts are with all of them and I fear for their safety and well-being.”
