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They also said international reaction to the sentence earlier
this week was laughable.
The Iranian Cinema Directors Association said in an Instagram
post that it was “the strangest judiciary sentence in the
history of Iranian cinema”.
It said the movie, "Leila's Brothers", had been approved by the
government and the Iranian government itself had participated at
the Cannes festival for years. “Such a strange sentence is a
futile attempt to humiliate this young and intelligent filmmaker
of Iranian cinema,” the association said.
Roustayi and Javad Noruzbegi have enjoyed heavy government
funding throughout their careers.
Several independent filmmakers said they saw the sentence as a
diversion from the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 16, 2022
death in custody of Mahsa Amini. She had been detained for
allegedly flouting the dress code and her death sparked
nationwide protests against the Islamic republic.
"The sentence is a joke. They (the authorities) want us to
forget Mahsa’s anniversary," filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi told
Reuters.
She also said international filmmakers' reaction was laughable
as they had fallen into what she called the authorities' trap in
giving the sentence too much importance.
Filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have shared
a petition calling for "justice" for Roustayi and Noruzbegi.
Roustayi, 34, and Noruzbegi, 57, will only serve one-twentieth
of their jail sentence, about nine days. The remainder will be
suspended over five years, according to the reformist Etemad
newspaper.
During their suspension period, the defendants will have to take
a film-making course on the “preservation of national and
ethical interests”. They will also not be allowed to meet with
other cinema professionals.
"Please, Mr. Scorsese! Do not, for a six-month suspended
sentence, divert the attention from Mahsa’s anniversary and
women’s demands for their rights which are being increasingly
violated by the day," said an Iranian film director, asking not
to be identified further.
(dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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