An Iranian filmmaker who fled his country after being sentenced to prison and lashings will participate in the Cannes Film Festival

Recently, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who in early May was sentenced to eight years in prison and lashes by a court, left Iran and fled to Europe, where he has been for the last several days.

Rasoulof's arrival to Europe could give him the chance to present his new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, at the Cannes Film Festival.

In a statement sent to the agency in charge of presenting his film at the event, Rasoulof stated that he had to secretly flee his country. "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," he said. "I didn't have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran,” he explained. He said that with a heavy heart, he had to choose exile. “The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly,” he stated.

The filmmaker, who won the Berlin Golden Bear award for his film The Lives of Others, also spoke out against “the criminal machine of the Islamic Republic” that “is continuously and systematically violating human rights.”

Rasoulof also explained the pressure placed on those who are working on the film. He claimed that some actors left Iran before the film became popular. He added that others have been questioned and their families have been summoned for questioning. The offices of his director of photography were also raided. "My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being," he said.

The filmmaker also posted a video on Instagram showing the mountainous landscapes he had to cross on foot to flee the country, with a message that reads: “If geographical Iran suffers beneath the boots of your religious tyranny, cultural Iran is alive in the common minds of millions of Iranians who were forced to leave Iran due to your brutality and no power can impose its will on it.”

Why was he convicted?

Rasoulof's lawyer spoke with AP while he was still in Iran. He said that his client was sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings. His assets were to be confiscated and he had to pay a fine for signing statements "in support of the Iranian people."

On his X account, the lawyer posted that, according to the court, both his films and documentaries are "examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the security of the country."

The Cannes Film Festival supports Rasoulof

Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, expressed his support for Rasoulof during a conference the night before the festival.

Frémaux praised Rasoulof's “courage and commitment,” which is reflected in his film, which shows “how insidiously the Iranian dictatorship creeps into families.”

It is not the first time that Rasoulof has had problems with the Iranian government

Rasoulof has had numerous problems with the Iranian government and has been sentenced to prison on two occasions.

In 2010, the filmmaker was arrested after being accused of filming without permission, a crime for which he received a six-year prison sentence, which was later reduced to one year. After returning to the country from a trip in 2017, the Iranian authorities confiscated his passport and banned him from leaving the country, which is why he had to leave Iran secretly.

That same year, Rasoulof was charged after being accused of having undermined national security by releasing the film An Upright Man, a successful political drama.