Story by JAKE COYLE, AP Film Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C<\/strong>ANNES, France (AP) \u2014 After being sentenced to eight years in prison,<\/a> the award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof says he’s fled to Europe shortly ahead of the Cannes Film Festival<\/a> premiere of his latest film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey,\u201d Rasoulof said in a statement dated Sunday and distributed by press agents Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, Rasoulof’s lawyer told The Associated Press that the director had been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging and confiscation of property by the Islamic Republic. Rasoulof’s attorney, Babak Paknia, said the filmmaker was being punished for making films and signing statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iranian authorities haven\u2019t yet acknowledged Rasoulof’s sentence and there was no immediate comment on his departure. Rasoulof and other artists had co-signed a letter urging authorities to put down their weapons amid demonstrations over a 2022 building collapse that killed at least 29 people<\/a> in the southwestern city of Abadan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rasoulof, 51, is the latest artist targeted in a widening crackdown on all dissent in Iran following years of mass protests, including over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini<\/a>. His 2020 film \u201cThere Is No Evil\u201d won the Golden Bear prize at Berlin in 2020<\/a>. Rasoulof said the prison sentence came before he revealed his latest film, \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig.\u201d That film premieres in competition in Cannes on May 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKnowing that the news of my new film would be revealed very soon, I knew that without a doubt, a new sentence would be added to these eight years,\u201d said Rasoulof. \u201cI didn\u2019t have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rasoulof said he strongly objected to his ruling but noted many others have been handed death sentences in the crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe scope and intensity of repression has reached a point of brutality where people expect news of another heinous government crime every day,\u201d said Rasoulof. \u201cThe criminal machine of the Islamic Republic is continuously and systematically violating human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rasoulof is currently in an undisclosed location. It’s unclear if he will attend the Cannes premiere of his film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are very happy and much relieved that Mohammad has safely arrived in Europe after a dangerous journey,\u201d said Jean-Christophe Simon, chief executive of Films Boutique and Parallel45. “We hope he will be able to attend the Cannes premiere of \u2018The Seed of the Sacred Fig\u2019 in spite of all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly before the release of Rasoulof’s statement, Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, said \u201cthe real question is about his presence\u201d when asked about the \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig\u201d in a pre-festival press conference Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe festival speaks through films,\u201d said Fremaux. He described \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig\u201d as about \u201chow insidiously the Iranian dictatorship creeps into families.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rasoulof also detailed the pressure put on his collaborators on the film. Some actors left Iran before wider awareness of the production, he said. Others have been interrogated and had their families summoned for questioning. Rasoulof said his cinematographer’s offices was raided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany people helped to make this film,\u201d he said. “My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n
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