Iranian director Saeed Roustayi jailed after ‘Leila’s Brothers’ shown at Cannes Film Festival
The Iranian director Saeed Roustayi has been jailed in his home country for six months after premiering his film Leila’s Brothers at Cannes Film Festival in 2022.
The news of his imprisonment has been confirmed by local Iranian media, who also reported the film’s producer Javad Noruzbegi is facing the same sentence. On August 14th, the reformist newspaper Etemad said the duo have been “sentenced to six months in prison for screening the movie at Cannes”.
According to the publication, the pair were found guilty of “contributing to propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system”. The film was previously banned after it “broke the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation,” and Roustayi refused to “correct” it despite receiving a request from the culture minister.
Etefad state Roustayi and Noruzbegi will serve nine days in jail, and the remainder of their sentence is set to “be suspended over five years”. The verdict can also be appealed.
At Cannes Film Festival in 2022, Leila’s Brothers won the coveted International Federation of Film Critics award, and was also nominated for the Palme d’Or but lost out to Triangle of Sadness.
Speaking to The Upcoming about the film last year, Roustayi said: “Something very striking in Iran is the very straight and direct relationship between people’s lives and international politicians – it’s an obvious link. These international figures really are present in our everyday life, in everyday conversation, because sanctions are everywhere.”
He continued: “Yes, the daily inflation that has immediate impact on people’s lives is linked to the decisions and to the behaviours and to the statements of these international figures.”
Watch the trailer for Leila’s Brothers below.
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