MOHAMMED RASULOFThe Thessaloniki International Film Festival denounces the sentences conferred upon Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammed Rasulof.  The recent accusations against them, as well as the excessive penalty imposed on them for spreading “propaganda against the system”, for participation in the protests that ensued after Ahmadinejad’s re-election and for their socially focused work, is a direct and unabashed violation of civil liberties. Thessaloniki Film Festival...

  International reaction is building as news emerges from Iran that Jafar Panahi, one of that country's most internationally respected film artists, has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term. The Berlin International Film Festival is the first of many film institutions around the world to sharply condemn the harsh sentences handed down to the renowned Iranian director Jafar Panahi and his directing colleague Mohammed Rasulof. Accused of spreading “propaganda against the system”,...

Iran has sentenced two prominent filmmakers to six years in jail each on vague charges of working against the ruling system, their lawyers said Monday. One of the two, the renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi, has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin film festivals. His films have been screened at various film festivals in India. He was invited as chief guest at the recently concluded 41st international film fest in Goa (IFFI) but was not allowed to leave the country. Iran has ...