Director Saeed Roustayi poses for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘Leila's Brothers’ at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 26, 2022
IRAN has sentenced a film-maker and his producer to six months in prison after they showcased a film at Cannes without government approval.
Director Saeed Roustayi and producer Javad Norouzbeigi travelled to the Cannes Film Festival last year to show Leila’s Brothers, where it won two awards.
The film focuses on a family struggling to make ends meet as Iran faces international sanctions and includes scenes showing protests in the Islamic Republic as a series of nationwide demonstrations shook the nation.
The Islamic Republic is attempting to deflect from its own failures with a scapegoating campaign against vulnerable and impoverished migrants, writes JAMSHID AHMADI
RITA DI SANTO reports on the films from Iran, Spain, Belgium and Brazil that won the top awards
