Iranian Director Saeed Roustaee Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Showing ‘Leila’s Brothers’ at Cannes

Iranian director Saeed Roustaee has been sentenced to six months to prison for showing his latest film, “Leila’s Brothers,” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, according to an Iranian report.

The Islamic Revolutionary Court convicted both Roustaee and Javad Noruzbegi for “contributing to the propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system,” according to the Iranian daily Etemad.

The nearly three-hour saga, which marked Roustaee’s debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars “The Salesman” actor Taraneh Alidoosti as one of five siblings fighting to find a way out of poverty in Tehran. The socially-minded movie was banned in Iran last year for “breaking the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation,” according to the AFP, which quoted Iranian authorities.

Roustaee and Noruzbegi will serve about nine days in prison, while the remainder of the sentence will be suspended over five years, during which they will also be banned from making films. As part of the sentence, Roustaee and Noruzbegi will be required to take a filmmaking course while “preserving national and ethical interests,” according to the AFP.

Alidoosti, who also starred in four films directed by Jafar Farhadi, was jailed last year after taking part in demonstrations to fight against the oppressive Iranian regime and posing on Instagram without hijab. She was also sanctioned for standing in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers, notablyPanahiand Mohammad Rasoulof. Alidoosti spent three weeks in prison and was released after her friends and family provided bail.

Roustaee was recently in France to preside over the jury of Nouvelles Vagues Festival in Biarritz. The festival was quick to react to news of the Iranian filmmaker’s sentence.

“We, at Nouvelles Vagues, the Biarritz International Film Festival, have been in shock as we found out about director Saeed Roustayi being sentenced to six months in prison – and forbidden to make another film for five years – for spreading anti-regime propaganda. His only crime is being a free-spirited filmmaker,” said the festival in a statement.

“With‘Law of Tehran’ and‘Leila’s Brothers,’ Roustayi made a sensational breakthrough on the international scene. Although he’s not even 35, his sharp take on society makes him one of today’s major international filmmakers,” the statement reads.

Legendary director Martin Scorsese also showed support for Roustaee on social media, sharing the link to a petition on his Instagram. “Their voices need to be heard,” Scorsese wrote.