By Pishtaz | 2023-08-17

The Iranian regime's judiciary on Tuesday (August 15) sentenced prominent screenwriter and director Saeed Roustayi to six months in prison for entering his film in an international competition without authorization.

The sentencing, which includes a ban on working for five years, "constitutes once again a serious violation of free speech for Iranian artists, film-makers, producers and technicians," Cannes organizers said in a statement to AFP.

Roustayi entered his film "Baradaran-e Leila" ("Leila's Brothers"), which recounts the economic struggles of a family in Tehran, at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

The film, which he wrote and directed, has been banned in Iran since its release last year, after Roustayi, 34, refused to make the changes the government had requested.

Bootleg versions of it were reportedly available, however, and widely watched.

As the grounds for the sentence, the judiciary noted Roustayi's "rule-breaking" activities -- refusing to "correct" the film per the Iranian regime's regulations -- and his submission of his work to international film festivals.

Roustayi was present at the screening in the resort town of Cannes on the French Riviera, along with the main cast of the film.

Though it did not win the festival's main prize, the Palme d'Or, "Leila's Brothers" picked up the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award.

After the film's global success, Islamic Republic officials began criticizing it and accusing its director of "contributing to propaganda against the system."

In addition to imprisonment, Roustayi's sentence contains other measures for his five-year probation.

During this time, he "is not allowed to participate in film-making activities; he may not socialize with the field's professionals, and he is assigned to a film-making course with adherence to national and moral interests at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting's Film College in Qom" -- a religious city.

The Directors' Guild of Iran, an organization independent from the government, condemned the "bizarre sentence" handed down to Roustayi, describing it as "a futile effort to belittle this young and intelligent director."

Describing the sentence as the "most bizarre in the history of Iranian cinema," the guild asked "Iran's cinema management" to "stand with Saeed Roustayi at this sensitive moment."

Celebrated globally, reprimanded at home

Roustayi's previous movie, "Just 6.5," a deep dive into Iran's addiction and poverty woes and the police's ruthless response to them, also gained global acclaim in 2019.

Other well-known Iranian directors have won awards and critical acclaim in major international film festivals over the past three decades, among them Ahmad Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi.

Panahi and Farhadi in particular have been reprimanded or imprisoned in Iran following their international success.

The main complaint of regime officials is that these screenwriters and film-makers paint Iran in a negative light, hyper-focus on social woes, and aggrandize the public's problems, portraying Iran as a dark place.

Following the ban on "Leila's Brothers", Roustayi criticized the government's stance on his movie and complained about the way he was treated.

"All that's left now is prison," he wrote in a sardonic Instagram post in March.

Renowned Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, who has had major roles in many globally acclaimed movies, including "Leila's Brothers" and Farhadi's Oscar-winning movie "The Salesman", also has been under the regime's harsh scrutiny.

During widespread protests in Iran over the death in "morality police" custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, Alidoosti was among the celebrities who joined thousands of Iranian women protesting the regime's mandatory hair covering.

Alidoosti was jailed for nearly three weeks and released on bail. Her detention prompted an outcry in the film industry and amplified concern about the authorities' crackdown on protests that saw thousands arrested.

Images published by Iranian media, including Shargh daily, showed her walking out of Tehran's notorious Evin prison holding flowers and notably not wearing the compulsory Islamic headscarf in defiance of the regime's law.

Prominent figures from the Iranian film industry turned out to welcome her, one of whom was Roustayi.

Alidoosti was later driven home and pictured sticking out her tongue and flashing a 'V' sign for victory in the back seat of a car.

In a tweet, the Cannes Film Festival said, "Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti released after three weeks in detention: what joy and relief!"

"Let's stay involved!" it added.