Iranian filmmaker flees to Europe after prison sentence ahead of his Cannes premiere

Published May 13, 2024 10:48 AM

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

CANNES, France (AP) — After being sentenced to eight years in prison, the award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof says he’s fled to Europe shortly ahead of the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his latest film. Last week, the 51-year-old Rasoulof’s lawyer told The Associated Press that the director had been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging and confiscation of property by the Islamic Republic. Rasoulof’s attorney, Babak Paknia, has said the filmmaker was being punished for making films and signing statements. Rasoulof is now in an undisclosed location. His latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” film premieres in competition in Cannes on May 24.

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