Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities, who pressured him to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival and harassed the film’s producers and actors.
“We are very happy and much relieved that Mohammad has safely arrived in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique and Parallel45, who are distributing the film. “We hope he will be able to attend the Cannes premiere of ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ in spite of all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.”
However, it remains unclear whether Rasoulof will be able to attend the Cannes world premiere of “Sacred Fig” on May 24, his Cannes publicist and French distributor also noted.
Rasoulov is among Iran’s most prominent...
“We are very happy and much relieved that Mohammad has safely arrived in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, CEO of Films Boutique and Parallel45, who are distributing the film. “We hope he will be able to attend the Cannes premiere of ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ in spite of all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.”
However, it remains unclear whether Rasoulof will be able to attend the Cannes world premiere of “Sacred Fig” on May 24, his Cannes publicist and French distributor also noted.
Rasoulov is among Iran’s most prominent...
- 5/13/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, according to his lawyer.
In a post on X, the filmmaker’s lawyer Babak Paknia wrote that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Court sentenced Rasoulof to eight years of imprisonment, flogging, a fine and confiscation of property. The judgment was confirmed in a Court of Appeal and the case has now been sent for enforcement, Paknia wrote.
The lawyer added that the main reason for issuing the sentence were Rasoulof’s public statements and making films and documentaries, which in the court’s opinion, are “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security.”
The news comes in the wake of Iranian authorities exerting heavy pressure on Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors were...
In a post on X, the filmmaker’s lawyer Babak Paknia wrote that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Court sentenced Rasoulof to eight years of imprisonment, flogging, a fine and confiscation of property. The judgment was confirmed in a Court of Appeal and the case has now been sent for enforcement, Paknia wrote.
The lawyer added that the main reason for issuing the sentence were Rasoulof’s public statements and making films and documentaries, which in the court’s opinion, are “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the country’s security.”
The news comes in the wake of Iranian authorities exerting heavy pressure on Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors were...
- 5/8/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran and Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian authorities are exerting heavy pressure on director Mohammad Rasoulof to pull his latest work “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from the Cannes Film Festival by harassing the film’s producers and actors who have been summoned for questioning and banned from leaving the country.
Human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who is Rasoulof’s lawyer, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that several unspecified actors and producers on “Sacred Fig” were summoned and questioned last week by authorities. He added that Iran’s authorities also pressured them to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival.
Furthermore, “Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation, they were asked to ask the director to remove the film from the Cannes festival,” Paknia said in the X post on Tuesday.
Rasoulof’s lawyer...
Human rights lawyer Babak Paknia, who is Rasoulof’s lawyer, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that several unspecified actors and producers on “Sacred Fig” were summoned and questioned last week by authorities. He added that Iran’s authorities also pressured them to convince Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival.
Furthermore, “Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation, they were asked to ask the director to remove the film from the Cannes festival,” Paknia said in the X post on Tuesday.
Rasoulof’s lawyer...
- 5/2/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been banned from leaving Iran to serve as a member of the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard jury, he has confirmed to Variety.
News of the travel ban for the director who was recently released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on social media, was first reported by the Farsi-language news service of Radio France Internationale (Rfi). Rasoulof via text message confirmed he was not allowed by Iranian authorities to leave the country to be a member of the Un Certain Regard jury. No reason was provided.
The Cannes Film Festival declined to comment.
U.S. actor John C. Reilly will serve as president of the Un Certain Regard jury. The other jury members are French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actor Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne.
News of the travel ban for the director who was recently released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on social media, was first reported by the Farsi-language news service of Radio France Internationale (Rfi). Rasoulof via text message confirmed he was not allowed by Iranian authorities to leave the country to be a member of the Un Certain Regard jury. No reason was provided.
The Cannes Film Festival declined to comment.
U.S. actor John C. Reilly will serve as president of the Un Certain Regard jury. The other jury members are French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actor Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne.
- 5/4/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Dissident director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose There Is No Evil won the 2020 Berlinale Golden Bear for best film, has been temporarily released from prison in Iran on medical grounds.
There Is No Evil producer Farzad Pak confirmed Rasoulof’s release to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Mohammad was released on bail for medical reasons [but] there are still other accusations [against him] that the course hasn’t made a decision on yet,” said Pak. “They [the court] might take him back [into jail] or leave him in limbo.”
Rasoulof was released Saturday and is currently resting at his home in Tehran. The director’s lawyer, Maryam Kianersi, told French News Agency Afpt that his incarceration has been suspended for two weeks.
Rasoulof was incarcerated last July after posting on social media calling on Iranian security forces to stop their violent attacks on protesters who were demonstrating in the southwestern city of Abadan. Shortly after his arrest, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old...
There Is No Evil producer Farzad Pak confirmed Rasoulof’s release to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Mohammad was released on bail for medical reasons [but] there are still other accusations [against him] that the course hasn’t made a decision on yet,” said Pak. “They [the court] might take him back [into jail] or leave him in limbo.”
Rasoulof was released Saturday and is currently resting at his home in Tehran. The director’s lawyer, Maryam Kianersi, told French News Agency Afpt that his incarceration has been suspended for two weeks.
Rasoulof was incarcerated last July after posting on social media calling on Iranian security forces to stop their violent attacks on protesters who were demonstrating in the southwestern city of Abadan. Shortly after his arrest, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old...
- 2/13/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mohammad Rasoulof, winner of the 2020 Berlin Golden Bear for “There Is No Evil,” has been temporarily released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on social media.
Rasoulof, 50, was incarcerated on July 8 after posting an appeal urging Iranian security forces to stop using weapons during May protests that were prompted by a building collapse in the southwestern city of Abadan. He has now been released for health reasons and is at home, according to several reports confirmed by local sources.
But though he has been formally released, it’s not clear how long Rasoulof will remain a free man.
“My client’s incarceration has been suspended for two weeks for health reasons,” the director’s lawyer Maryam Kianersi told French news agency Afp, adding that he had been “released on Saturday.”
Iran’s Shargh newspaper, which is Iran’s leading reformist publication, reported...
Rasoulof, 50, was incarcerated on July 8 after posting an appeal urging Iranian security forces to stop using weapons during May protests that were prompted by a building collapse in the southwestern city of Abadan. He has now been released for health reasons and is at home, according to several reports confirmed by local sources.
But though he has been formally released, it’s not clear how long Rasoulof will remain a free man.
“My client’s incarceration has been suspended for two weeks for health reasons,” the director’s lawyer Maryam Kianersi told French news agency Afp, adding that he had been “released on Saturday.”
Iran’s Shargh newspaper, which is Iran’s leading reformist publication, reported...
- 2/13/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Prominent Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof, winner of the 2020 Berlin Golden Bear for “There Is No Evil,” and fellow filmmaker Mostafa Al-Ahmad have been arrested in Iran for posting a statement on social media in the wake of a violent government crackdown.
Rasoulof’s producers Saturday also provided an update Saturday, saying that Rasoulof is being held in solitary confinement and also being interrogated in Tehran’s Evin Prison where Iran’s political prisoners are customarily held.
“Mr. Mohammad Rasoulof was arrested under the pretext of a one-year prison sentence issued for the movie, ‘The Man of Integrity.’ The verdict was issued by the Revolutionary Court,” the statement said, adding that there are two other open cases currently pending against Rasoulof.
“In one case, he is being accused for making the documentary film, ‘Intentional Crime,’ in which he investigates the intentional death of Iranian poet and writer, Baktash Abtin,” the producers stated.
Rasoulof’s producers Saturday also provided an update Saturday, saying that Rasoulof is being held in solitary confinement and also being interrogated in Tehran’s Evin Prison where Iran’s political prisoners are customarily held.
“Mr. Mohammad Rasoulof was arrested under the pretext of a one-year prison sentence issued for the movie, ‘The Man of Integrity.’ The verdict was issued by the Revolutionary Court,” the statement said, adding that there are two other open cases currently pending against Rasoulof.
“In one case, he is being accused for making the documentary film, ‘Intentional Crime,’ in which he investigates the intentional death of Iranian poet and writer, Baktash Abtin,” the producers stated.
- 7/9/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
There Is No Evil (Sheytan Vojud Nadarad) Kino Lorber Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Mohammad Rasoulof Writer: Mohammad Rasoulof Cast: Ehsan Mirhosseini, Shaghayegh Shourian, Kaveh Ahangar, Mohammad Valizadegan, Mahtab Servati, Mohammad Seddighimehr, Baran Rasoulof, Jilla Shahi Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 5/4/21 Opens: May 14, 2021 Jean-Paul […]
The post There Is No Evil Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post There Is No Evil Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/9/2021
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Leading European festivals, film academies and funders have called for the freedom of Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof.
Rasoulof was last week summoned to serve a one-year prison sentence in Iran three days after his film “There is No Evil” won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear, according to his lawyer and a report by London-based Iran International TV.
The European Film Academy, Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale, the Deutsche Filmakademie, the Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, the Filmfest Hamburg, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa), the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr), the Netherlands Film Fund and the Accademia del Cinema Italiano-Premi David di Donatello have all expressed concern about Rasoulof’s imminent incarceration.
Rasoulof is one of his country’s most prominent directors, even though none of his films have screened in Iran, where they are banned.
Wim Wenders, president of the European Film Academy, said: “Our colleague Mohammad Rasoulof...
Rasoulof was last week summoned to serve a one-year prison sentence in Iran three days after his film “There is No Evil” won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear, according to his lawyer and a report by London-based Iran International TV.
The European Film Academy, Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale, the Deutsche Filmakademie, the Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, the Filmfest Hamburg, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa), the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr), the Netherlands Film Fund and the Accademia del Cinema Italiano-Premi David di Donatello have all expressed concern about Rasoulof’s imminent incarceration.
Rasoulof is one of his country’s most prominent directors, even though none of his films have screened in Iran, where they are banned.
Wim Wenders, president of the European Film Academy, said: “Our colleague Mohammad Rasoulof...
- 3/9/2020
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Rasoulof was unable to travel to Berlin because of a travel ban.
Mohammad Rasoulof, whose latest film There Is No Evil won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, has been summoned to serve a one-year prison sentence in his native Iran, his lawyer has told The Associated Press.
He was arrested and sentenced last summer by the Iranian Revolutionary Court after he was accused of “endangering national security” and “propaganda against the Islamic government”.
The sentence wasn’t carried out last year, although he was slapped with a two-year travel ban by the Iranian regime...
Mohammad Rasoulof, whose latest film There Is No Evil won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, has been summoned to serve a one-year prison sentence in his native Iran, his lawyer has told The Associated Press.
He was arrested and sentenced last summer by the Iranian Revolutionary Court after he was accused of “endangering national security” and “propaganda against the Islamic government”.
The sentence wasn’t carried out last year, although he was slapped with a two-year travel ban by the Iranian regime...
- 3/4/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has been summoned to serve a prison sentence in Iran, three days after his film “There is no Evil” won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear, according to his lawyer and a report by London-based Iran International TV.
The dissident director’s lawyer Nasser Zarafshan told The Associated Press that Rasoulof on Wednesday received a text message summoning him to serve a one-year jail sentence. He added that Rasoulof will not turn himself into authorities, and will instead file an appeal.
Rasoulof is one of his country’s most prominent directors, even though none of his films have screened in Iran, where they are banned.
In 2011, the year he won two prizes at Cannes with his censorship-themed “Goodbye,” Rasoulof was sentenced with fellow director Jafar Panahi to six years in prison and a 20-year ban on filmmaking for alleged anti-regime propaganda.
His sentence was...
The dissident director’s lawyer Nasser Zarafshan told The Associated Press that Rasoulof on Wednesday received a text message summoning him to serve a one-year jail sentence. He added that Rasoulof will not turn himself into authorities, and will instead file an appeal.
Rasoulof is one of his country’s most prominent directors, even though none of his films have screened in Iran, where they are banned.
In 2011, the year he won two prizes at Cannes with his censorship-themed “Goodbye,” Rasoulof was sentenced with fellow director Jafar Panahi to six years in prison and a 20-year ban on filmmaking for alleged anti-regime propaganda.
His sentence was...
- 3/4/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof, whose sixth feature “There Is No Evil” won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear on Saturday, is one of his country’s most prominent directors even though none of his films have screened in Iran where they are banned. In 2011, the year he won two prizes at Cannes with his censorship-themed “Goodbye,” Rasoulof was sentenced with fellow director Jafar Panahi to six years in prison and a 20-year ban on filmmaking for alleged anti-regime propaganda. His sentence was later suspended and he was released on bail. In 2017 Iranian authorities confiscated Rasoulof’s passport upon his return from the Telluride Film Festival where his “A Man of Integrity,” about corruption and injustice in Iran, had screened.
More recently Rasoulof was not allowed by Iranian authorities to attend Berlin. The director’s daughter, Baran Rasoulof, who stars in his latest film, accepted the fest’s top prize on her father’s behalf.
More recently Rasoulof was not allowed by Iranian authorities to attend Berlin. The director’s daughter, Baran Rasoulof, who stars in his latest film, accepted the fest’s top prize on her father’s behalf.
- 3/2/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Out of the total number of death penalties conducted globally in the year 2017, over half were done in Iran. The percentage has been dropping since, but Iran is still in the lead in that regard. Another thing, as we learn from Mohammad Rasoulof’s newest film that just won at the official competition of Berlinale is that death penalty is rarely being executed by professional staff, but in most cases the military conscripts, which means that the regular citizens are being made accomplices in the country’s crimes against humanity.
“There is No Evil” won the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2020
The symbolic empty chair for the director Mohammad Rasoulof who has been banned from leaving the country.
Rasoulof’s film deals with the issue of the death penalty and the ethics behind it in a series of short, loosely connected stories. The first one follows a seemingly ordinary man Heshmat...
“There is No Evil” won the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2020
The symbolic empty chair for the director Mohammad Rasoulof who has been banned from leaving the country.
Rasoulof’s film deals with the issue of the death penalty and the ethics behind it in a series of short, loosely connected stories. The first one follows a seemingly ordinary man Heshmat...
- 2/29/2020
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Update, writethru: The 70th Berlin Film Festival, and the first under new leadership team Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, drew to a close this evening with the Golden Bear awarded to Mohammad Rasoulof’s There Is No Evil. Rasoulof is currently banned from leaving Iran for participation in social and political activity. This is the second time in five years that Berlin’s top prize has gone to an Iranian filmmaker unable to travel outside their home country — the last time was in 2015 when Jafar Panahi scooped the honor for Taxi.
Along with Panahi and Asghar Farhadi, Rasoulof, whose credits also include Manuscripts Don’t Burn, is among the best-known Iranian filmmakers on the international stage. His last picture, A Man Of Integrity, won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard prize in 2017, but his passport was confiscated that same year. Yesterday, the director issued a statement of regret over his inability to...
Along with Panahi and Asghar Farhadi, Rasoulof, whose credits also include Manuscripts Don’t Burn, is among the best-known Iranian filmmakers on the international stage. His last picture, A Man Of Integrity, won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard prize in 2017, but his passport was confiscated that same year. Yesterday, the director issued a statement of regret over his inability to...
- 2/29/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Eliza Hittman’s ’Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ wins Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.
Mohammad Rasoulof’s There Is No Evil has become the latest film from Iran to win the Berlinale’s top honour, the Golden Bear, following Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation in 2012 and Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Tehran in 2015.
Rasoulof was not able to attend this year’s festival because he is banned from leaving Iran following his arrest last year. The film’s producers Farzad Pak and Kaveh Farnam, and the director’s daughter Baran Rasoulof (an actress who lives in Hamburg) collected the award on his...
Mohammad Rasoulof’s There Is No Evil has become the latest film from Iran to win the Berlinale’s top honour, the Golden Bear, following Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation in 2012 and Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Tehran in 2015.
Rasoulof was not able to attend this year’s festival because he is banned from leaving Iran following his arrest last year. The film’s producers Farzad Pak and Kaveh Farnam, and the director’s daughter Baran Rasoulof (an actress who lives in Hamburg) collected the award on his...
- 2/29/2020
- by 158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦
- ScreenDaily
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