Martin Scorsese supports a petition against the jailing of acclaimed Iranian director Saeed Roustaee for showing his film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Scorsese, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi Driver and Goodfellas, reposted a campaign launched by his daughter, Francesca, this week after news of Roustaee’s prison sentence broke.
“Please sign this petition demanding justice for Saeed,” Scorsese wrote on his Instagram account.
Roustaee, 34, was sentenced to six months in prison for showing his film Leila’s Brothers at last year’s Cannes festival, according to Iranian media reports on Tuesday (15/8).
The film, which tells about the economic struggles of a family in Tehran, has been banned in Iran.
Roustaee and the film’s producer, Javad Noruzbegi, were found guilty of “contributing to the propaganda of opposition to the Islamic system,” said Iran’s reformist daily, Etemad.
Apart from imprisonment, another punishment is a five-year ban from work.
The two filmmakers will only be jailed for nine days, while the rest “will be suspended for five years,” according to Etemad, who added that the sentences were appealable.
In her petition, Francesca Scorsese, who is also an actor and director, wrote: “We now have less than 20 days to help gather enough attention to appeal his sentence.”
He urged supporters to sign the petition so Roustaee “can continue to be a force for good in the world.”
The petition is already two-thirds of the way towards the target of 15,000 signatures per Thursday (17/8).
Leila’s Brothers won the Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award at Cannes last year.
Iranian state media said the film was “against the rules by being submitted to an international film festival without a permit,” and the director refused to “fix” it at the request of the culture ministry.
Organizers of the Cannes festival this week denounced “serious violations of freedom of expression by Iranian artists, filmmakers, producers and film technicians.”
Iran has long had a thriving film industry, with personalities such as Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi earning accolades around the world.
Roustaee rose to international fame since the release of her film Just 6.5 in 2019, which is a candid account of Iran’s drug problem and the brutal and futile police response. (rd/lt)
