Muhammad Rasoulof flees from Iran to Europe after being sentenced to prison

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof left Iran and secretly traveled to Europe after he was sentenced to eight years in prison by the country's authorities, who pressured him to withdraw his latest work “The Sacred Fig Seed” from the Cannes Film Festival and harassed the film. Producers and actors.

“We are very happy and relieved that Mohammed has arrived safely in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique and Parallel45, which is distributing the film. “We hope that he will be able to attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Fig in Cannes, despite all attempts to prevent him from attending in person.”

However, it is still unclear whether Rasouloff will be able to attend the world premiere of “Sacred Fig” at Cannes on May 24, his French publicist and distributor said in Cannes.

In a statement issued from an undisclosed location, Rasoulof described the repression faced by his team in Iran and asked the international film community to provide “effective support.”

Here is Muhammad Rasoulof's full statement:

“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey. About a month ago, my lawyers told me that my eight-year prison sentence had been confirmed in the Court of Appeal and would be implemented at short notice. Knowing that news of my new film would be revealed very soon, I knew that it would undoubtedly A new sentence will be added to these eight years. I did not have much time to decide. 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. So I had to leave Iran secretly.

Of course, I strongly object to the recent unjust sentence that forced me into exile. However, the Islamic Republic's judicial system has issued so many harsh and bizarre decisions that I do not feel I have the right to file a complaint about my sentence. Death sentences are being carried out as the Islamic Republic targets the lives of protesters and civil rights activists. It's hard to believe, but right now as I write this, young rapper Tomag Salhi is in prison and has been sentenced to death. The scale and intensity of the repression have reached such brutality that every day people expect news of another heinous government crime. The criminal machine of the Islamic Republic continuously and systematically violates human rights.

Before the Islamic Republic's intelligence services were informed about the production of my film, a number of actors managed to leave Iran. But many of the film's actors and agents are still in Iran and the intelligence service is putting pressure on them. They were subjected to lengthy interrogations. The families of some of them were summoned and threatened. Because of their appearance in this film, lawsuits were filed against them, and they were banned from leaving the country. These forces raided the cinematographer's office and confiscated all his work tools. They also prevented the film's sound engineer from traveling to Canada. During the investigation with the film crew, the intelligence 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 were being manipulated into participating in the project.

Despite the enormous constraints that I, my colleagues, and my friends faced while making the film, I tried to achieve a cinematic narrative that was far from the narrative dominated by 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 an incentive for creativity, but when there is no way, a way must be made.

The world's film community must ensure effective support for the makers of such films. Freedom of expression must be defended loud and clear. People who courageously and selflessly confront censorship rather than support it are reassured of the importance of their actions through the support of international film organizations. As I know from personal experience, this can be an invaluable help for them to continue their vital work.

A lot of people helped make this movie. “My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being.”