Famous Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, whose latest film will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, was sentenced to five years in prison by an Iranian court, his lawyer announced on Wednesday May 8.
The director, awarded several times at international festivals, was also sentenced to lashes, a fine and the confiscation of his property, said Mr.e Babak Paknia in https://twitter.com/DrPaknia/status/1788212856720076867. This judgment was not announced by official Iranian media.
His lawyer said the court handed down a prison sentence of eight years, with five years applicable, and that this judgment was upheld on appeal on an unspecified date.
Mohammad Rasoulof, 52, was arrested in July 2022 for encouraging demonstrations sparked after the collapse of a building that killed more than 40 people in May in southwest Iran.
After this tragedy, a group of Iranian filmmakers led by Mohammad Rasoulof published an open letter calling on the security forces “to lay down your arms” in the face of national outrage against ” Corruption “ And “incompetence” those responsible.
The 77e Cannes Film Festival, which begins May 14, added Mohammad Rasoulof’s new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, in the official selection. This filmmaker was the winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in 2017 (A man of integrity), then the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2020 (The devil does not exist).
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