Some 30 film organizations, festivals and professionals as well as freedom of speech NGOs have signed an open letter calling on Iranian authorities to immediately drop all charges against directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha as well as lift a travel ban.
The signatories include the Berlinale, the Amsterdam-based International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk, and PEN America in New York.
The filmmakers, whose last collaboration Ballad Of A White Cow made waves on the festival circuit, have become caught in the crosshairs of their country’s hardline Islamist regime in relation to their upcoming film My Favourite Cake.
The pair were due to fly to Paris in September to complete post-production on the feature, exploring “life behind closed doors of an aging woman who dares to live her desires in a country where women’s rights are heavily restricted.”
Their passports were confiscated at Tehran airport, however, and they were notified that they would be standing trial on charges believed to be related to the film.
The incident followed a raid on the home of the film’s editor by Iranian security forces, during which they seized rushes and other material related to the production.
“We fervently urge the Iranian authorities to cease the relentless persecution of filmmakers, writers, artists, musicians, and all who courageously articulate the aspirations, humanity, and dreams of the Iranian people,” read the letter.
“Now is the time for change, starting with Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam, whose latest film, My Favourite Cake, is believed to have angered the country’s hard-line Islamist authorities, although details of the charges have yet to be communicated.”
There have been a raft of bans and arrests involving artists, writers, and other cultural workers over the past two years as part of a crackdown on dissent.
The crackdown began prior to the rise of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, in the wake of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s police custody in September 2022, but has intensified as the Iranian authorities attempt to rein in the pro-democracy movement.
The letter noted that Iran ranked second on the PEN America 2022 Freedom To Write Index list of top 10 jailers of writers, and topped the list for jailers of female writers.
It also alluded to the cases of director Saeed Roustayi, who was sentenced this year to six-months in prison on charges of “anti-regime propaganda activity” for screening his film Leila’s Brothers at Cannes in 2022 without permission; jailed journalist and Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, and rapper Saman Yasin, who says he has been tortured while in jail.
“Filmmakers, writers, and other artists play an essential role in establishing free and vibrant societies, serving as architects of communication and collaboration and inspiring citizens to dream of better futures based on new possibilities and ideas. Instead of stifling their voices, governments must elevate and celebrate artists for their invaluable contributions to society,” read the letter.
The directors have been told notified they will be tried by a judge connected to Iran’s Evin jail, which is one of the harshest penitentiary institutions in the country.
Moghadam, who holds Iranian and Swedish citizenship, was previously banned from travelling for two years after playing the lead role in Jafar Panahi’s 2013 clandestinely shot film Closed Curtain.
In 2019, she was sacked from a major Iranian film production on the orders of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance. She responded with an open letter condemning the action.
Sanaeeha and Moghadam were also sued by the Revolutionary Guards for Ballad of A White Cow, which tells the devastating story of a woman who discovers her executed husband was innocent of the charges against him.
The pair were charged with “propaganda against the regime and acting against national security”. They were later acquitted but the film remains banned in Iran to this day.
Outside of the country, Ballad Of A White Cow world premiered in Competition at the Berlinale in 2021 and then played in a raft of festivals including Stockholm, Zurich and Tribeca.
Melanie Goodfellow
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