Iranian director Rasoulof will not be a jury at Cannes due to travel ban

MOSCOW, May 4 – RIA Novosti. Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof will not be able to be a jury at the Cannes Film Festival due to the travel ban, writer deadline.

According to the broadcast, the director confirmed that he would not be able to accept the invitation of the show’s organizers after he was banned from leaving Iran. Rasulof was invited to take part in the judging work of the Un Certain Regard programme. According to the director, the article details that “no explanation was given regarding the refusal of the travel request.”

The news of Rasoulof’s travel restrictions came after his friend and colleague Jafar Panahi left Iran last week. At the same time, his lawyer denied rumors that the director left the country forever.

The deadline points: Rasoulof was arrested last July. The detention was linked to a petition urging security forces to be more restrained towards protesters. The director was temporarily released on medical grounds in February after serving seven months in prison.

Organizers of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 spoke For the release of Rasoulof and urged other shows, cinemas and artists to join them. The appeal, posted on the review’s website in July, states that the director was sentenced to one year in prison. And after his release, he was banned from leaving the country and participating in public and political activities for two years.

Un Certain Regard is a parallel program showing innovative films at Cannes. Many of Rasoulof’s paintings were exhibited in this section and received awards. These are the tapes “Farewell”, “Manuscripts Do Not Burn”, “Do Not Corrupt”.

The 2023 Cannes Film Festival will take place from 16 to 27 May.