Iranian justice sentenced the famous director Saeed Roustaee to six months in prison for the screening of his film Leila and her brothers at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, an Iranian media announced on Tuesday August 15.
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With our correspondent in Tehran, Siavosh Ghazi
“ Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Saeed Roustaee and Javad Norouzbeigui, the film’s director and producer to six months in prison for contributing to opposition propaganda against Islamic rule in Iran.
feature film, Leila and her brothers paints the portrait of a poor family on the verge of implosion, in an Iran plunged into a deep economic crisis. It has been banned in Iran since its release last year, for having ” break the rules by taking part in the Cannes and Munich festivals without authorization.
Read also“Leila and her brothers” by Saeed Roustaee, a vibrant tribute to Iranian women
However, the court decided that the two filmmakers would only serve nine days in prison. The remainder of the sentence is suspended for five years. The two filmmakers are also required to refrain from activities related to the crime committed and not to communicate with people “active in the field of cinema”. This sentence is a new turn of the screw against the artists who had taken a position in favor of the protest movement after the death of Mahsa Amini, eleven months ago, during his detention by the morality police.Read alsoCannes 2022: “Elevator” interview with Iranian Saeed Roustaee on “Leila’s Brothers”