Mohammad Rasoulof In An “Undisclosed Location In Europe” After Fleeing Iran Following Eight-Year Prison Sentence Ruling

Zac Ntim
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has left Iran and is currently staying in what he described as an “undisclosed location in Europe” in a statement shared with the international press this afternoon.

“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey,” Rasoulof said in the statement, which you can read in full below.

More from Deadline

News of Rasoulof’s journey comes a week after his lawyer confirmed that Iranian authorities had handed the filmmaker an eight-year prison sentence for “signing statements and making films and documentaries.” Days after the sentence was announced, Rasoulof’s latest film The Seed Of The Sacred Fig was handed a competition spot at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

“I strongly object to the unjust recent ruling against me that forces me into exile. However, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic has issued so many cruel and strange decisions that I do not feel it is my place to complain about my sentence,” Rasoulof’s statement reads.

“Death sentences are being executed as the Islamic Republic has targeted the lives of protesters and civil rights activists. It’s hard to believe, but right now as I’m writing this, the young rapper, Toomaj Salehi is held in prison and has been sentenced to death. The scope and intensity of repression has reached a point of brutality where people expect news of another heinous government crime every day. The criminal machine of the Islamic Republic is continuously and systematically violating human rights.”

Rasoulof continues to say in the statement that Iranian authorities have “summoned and threatened” several members of the cast and crew that worked on The Seed Of The Sacred Fig. The filmmaker says Iranian intelligence forces have also questioned the families of crew members.

“They were trying to convince the film crew that they were not aware of the film’s story and that they had been manipulated into participating in the project,” he writes.

Rasoulof ends the statement by asking the world of cinema to support “people who courageously and selflessly confront censorship.”

He adds: “Many people helped to make this film. My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being.”

Rasoulof has been in the crosshairs of Iran’s hardline Islamic Republic government throughout his career for challenging its authoritarian rule. In his latest brush with Iran’s hardline regime, he was arrested in July 2022 for signing a petition titled “Lay Down Your Arms” calling on security forces to exercise restraint in relation to popular protests.

He was released on a temporary basis in February 2023 from Tehran’s Evin jail due to ill health and has been under house arrest ever since. Last year, he was invited to serve on the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury but was unable to accept the invitation after being barred from leaving Iran.

The director has a long relationship with Cannes. His films Manuscripts Don’t Burn (2013) and A Man Of Integrity (2017) world premiered in Un Certain Regard in 2013 and 2017, winning the Fipresci Prize and best film prize respectively. It is still unclear whether he will be present in Cannes this year.

Statement

“I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey.

About a month ago, my lawyers informed me that my eight-year prison sentence was confirmed in the court of appeal and would be implemented on short notice. 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. I didn’t have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly. 

Of course, I strongly object to the unjust recent ruling against me that forces me into exile. However, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic has issued so many cruel and strange decisions that I do not feel it is my place to complain about my sentence. Death sentences are being executed as the Islamic Republic has targeted the lives of protesters and civil rights activists. It’s hard to believe, but right now as I’m writing this, the young rapper, Toomaj Salehi is held in prison and has been sentenced to death. The scope and intensity of repression has reached a point of brutality where people expect news of another heinous government crime every day. The criminal machine of the Islamic Republic is continuously and systematically violating human rights.

Before the Islamic Republic’s intelligence services were informed about my film’s production, a number of the actors managed to leave Iran. However, many of the actors and agents of the film are still in Iran and the intelligence system is pressuring them. They have been put through lengthy interrogations. The families of some of them were summoned and threatened. Due to their appearance in this movie, court cases were filed against them, and they were banned from leaving the country. They raided the office of the cinematographer, and all his work equipment was taken away. They also prevented the film’s sound engineer from traveling to Canada. During the interrogations of the film crew, the intelligence forces asked them to pressure me to withdraw the film from the Cannes Festival. They were trying to convince the film crew that they were not aware of the film’s story and that they had been manipulated into participating in the project. 

Despite the vast limitations I and my colleagues and friends faced while making the film, I tried to achieve a cinematic narrative that is far from the narrative dominated by the censorship in the Islamic Republic, and closer to its reality. I have no doubt that restricting and suppressing freedom of expression cannot be justified even if it becomes a spur for creativity, but when there is no way, a way must be made.

The world’s cinema community must ensure effective support for the makers of such films. Freedom of speech should be defended, loudly and clearly. People who courageously and selflessly confront censorship instead of supporting it are reassured of the importance of their actions by the support of international film organizations. As I know from personal experience, it can be an invaluable help for them to continue their vital work. 

Many people helped to make this film. My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.