The award-winning Iranian film director, Mohammad Rasoulof, has been sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation in Tehran due to the unapproved content of his films. Several international film festivals, of which he has been a participant and competitor in recent years, have come to his aid, demanding his immediate and unconditional release.

Rasoulof, whose work has frequently criticized local and national corruption in Iran, won the 2011 Prix de la mise en scène and 2017 Prix un certain regard at the Cannes International Film Festival, which both celebrate young, innovative talent in international cinema.

Upon returning home from the Cannes Festival in 2017, Rasoulof was detained on arrival at Tehran International Airport. After being questioned for two hours, his passport was seized and so began a two-year ordeal of interrogations and investigations by the Culture and Media Court. Rasoulof has been unable to leave Iran or make films for the past two years. Finally, on July 20, 2019 he was convicted of spreading “propaganda against the state.” He was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from participating in politics or political parties, and from travelling abroad, for an additional two years.

Rasoulof was previously convicted of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the state” in 2010, along with another colleague, and was sentenced to six years in prison. This was reduced to one year upon appeal, and the sentence was never enforced. Rasoulof is among dozens of other Iranian filmmakers and artists whose work has been subject to state censorship and who have endured investigations, trials, and prison sentences to impede their artistic and political work.

Following Rasoulof’s July sentence, the Cannes International Film Festival called on Iranian authorities to immediately release Rasoulof. Please join The Voice Project in demanding the same.

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