Mohammad Rasoulof has fled Iran less than a week after his home country sentenced him to eight years in prison and flogging. The Iranian filmmaker, who won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival for “There Is No Evil,” has a film in competition at Cannes this year for the first time: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” It’s set to premiere next week toward the end of the festival, with the director’s attendance still unknown. The film, made in secret, was added to the lineup last month. Rasoulof’s fleeing raises the question of whether he will actually be able to attend the festival after all.
In a press statement issued from an undisclosed location, Rasoulof described the repression of his team in Iran while asking the international film community for “effective support.” See the full statement, dated May 12, below.
In addition to the eight-year prison sentence and flogging,...
In a press statement issued from an undisclosed location, Rasoulof described the repression of his team in Iran while asking the international film community for “effective support.” See the full statement, dated May 12, below.
In addition to the eight-year prison sentence and flogging,...
- 5/13/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has left Iran and is currently staying in what he described as an “undisclosed location in Europe” in a statement shared with the international press this afternoon.
“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey,” Rasoulof said in the statement, which you can read in full below.
News of Rasoulof’s journey comes a week after his lawyer confirmed that Iranian authorities had handed the filmmaker an eight-year prison sentence for “signing statements and making films and documentaries.” Days after the sentence was announced, Rasoulof’s latest film The Seed Of The Sacred Fig was handed a competition spot at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“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...
“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey,” Rasoulof said in the statement, which you can read in full below.
News of Rasoulof’s journey comes a week after his lawyer confirmed that Iranian authorities had handed the filmmaker an eight-year prison sentence for “signing statements and making films and documentaries.” Days after the sentence was announced, Rasoulof’s latest film The Seed Of The Sacred Fig was handed a competition spot at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“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...
- 5/13/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property, according to his lawyer.
Posting today on social media platform X, human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who represents the filmmaker, said the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued the verdict.
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is signing statements and making films and documentaries, which, according to the court, are examples of collusion and collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” he said
Iranian authorities had reportedly been putting pressure on Rasoulof to pull...
Posting today on social media platform X, human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who represents the filmmaker, said the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued the verdict.
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is signing statements and making films and documentaries, which, according to the court, are examples of collusion and collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” he said
Iranian authorities had reportedly been putting pressure on Rasoulof to pull...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property, his lawyer Babak Paknia announced in a post on X on Wednesday.
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is for signing statements and making films and documentaries. In the court’s opinion, these actions were examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” wrote Paknia.
News of Rasoulof’s sentencing follows in the wake of reports that the director had come under pressure from the Iranian authorities to withdraw his upcoming film The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree from the Cannes Film Festival where it is due to world premiere in Competition.
Rasoulof has been in the crosshairs of Iran’s hardline Islamic Republic government throughout his career for challenging its authoritarian rule.
In his latest brush with Iran’s hardline regime,...
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is for signing statements and making films and documentaries. In the court’s opinion, these actions were examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security,” wrote Paknia.
News of Rasoulof’s sentencing follows in the wake of reports that the director had come under pressure from the Iranian authorities to withdraw his upcoming film The Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree from the Cannes Film Festival where it is due to world premiere in Competition.
Rasoulof has been in the crosshairs of Iran’s hardline Islamic Republic government throughout his career for challenging its authoritarian rule.
In his latest brush with Iran’s hardline regime,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s unclear if the Iranian auteur will be allowed to attend the film’s premiere.
Berlin-based Films Boutique is to handle world sales on Mohammad Rasoulof’s Berlin competition title There Is No Evil.
The Iranian auteur has faced censorship challenges in Iran since his second feature Iron Island (2005), and last summer was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment on charges of endangering national security through his work. He is now out of jail but is not allowed to leave Iran as he remains under a travel ban.
Films Boutique COO Gabor Greiner has called on the Iranian authorities...
Berlin-based Films Boutique is to handle world sales on Mohammad Rasoulof’s Berlin competition title There Is No Evil.
The Iranian auteur has faced censorship challenges in Iran since his second feature Iron Island (2005), and last summer was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment on charges of endangering national security through his work. He is now out of jail but is not allowed to leave Iran as he remains under a travel ban.
Films Boutique COO Gabor Greiner has called on the Iranian authorities...
- 2/13/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSDavid Cronenberg on the set of CrashThis year's Venice Film Festival will premiere a brand new 4K restoration of David Cronenberg's cult classic Crash. "Seems like only yesterday that we were shooting it," Cronenberg says. Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, best known for films Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013) and A Man of Integrity (2017), has been sentenced to one year in prison for "propaganda against the state," highlighting the plight of artists in Iran. Recommended VIEWINGBehold, the official trailer for Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. A first look at Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse, the follow-up to The Witch, which follows two men struggling for both physical and mental survival in a tower on an isolated island. Notebook's Cannes correspondent Leonardo Goi describes the film as...
- 7/31/2019
- MUBI
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.