Last week, Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to 90 lashes and one year imprisonment by a court in Iran. The actress was arrested in July for her role in the film My Tehran For Sale, in which she plays a young, female artist. This debut film by poet Granaz Moussavi screened at IFFR 2011, but has never officially been released in Iran. The court’s grounds for imposing the sentence are not known. The report of Marzieh Vafamehr’s sentence follows reports of the arrest of Iranian filmmakers, including Motjabi Mirtahmbasb, in June and of six Iranian documentary makers on 17 September. Film producer Katayoun Shahabi, who has attended the IFFR as a guest on many occasions, was one of these. Motjabi Mirtahmbasb is co-director of This is Not a Film, the most recent film by previously sentenced filmmaker Jafar Panahi. The IFFR initiated a protest against Jafar Panahi’s conviction and imprisonment in January 2011.
The IFFR is shocked and dismayed by the arrest and sentencing of these Iranian filmmakers and once again calls upon the Iranian authorities to put an end to the suppression of artistic freedom. We would also like to express out support of the Iranian filmmakers, whose courage is a source of infinite inspiration.