The directors of the organization at risk calls for action on the Iranian directors detained: “The international film community must speak”

The International Coalition of Cinematographers at Risk (ICFR), an Amsterdam-based body established in 2019 to support film professionals at risk, has published an open letter on the recent crackdown on the Iranian film community.

“The past few weeks have seen a wave of arrests in Tehran’s film and arts communities … a major crackdown is underway and Iranian film artists now have a clear statement as to where exactly the red line is,” they wrote. the co-founders and producers of ICFR. Mike Downey and Orva Nirabia, director of the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA).

The letter comes during the arrest last week of two of Iran’s top directors, Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi, as well as lesser-known writer and director Mustafa al-Ahmadi.

The arrests come amid restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran, as the government holds back a wave of public protests over various issues, including the cost of living crisis, deadly government-led building demolitions and codes of law. strict clothing. for a woman

The IFCR also focused on the cases of Iranian documentarians Mina Keshavarzi and Firuzeh Khosravan, who were arrested at their homes in Tehran in May and released on bail a week later with a travel ban.

“Although no charges have been filed against them, they are now prohibited from traveling, working or contributing to ‘international and Iranian cultural life’ for at least six months,” the ICFR wrote.

The organization called on the international film community to support its Iranian colleagues in exile, describing them as the “conscience of the nation”.

“More than ever, it is imperative that the international film community unite and speak on behalf of those who have been silenced by repression and imprisonment, just as these filmmakers have given a voice to the oppressed and voiceless,” the statement said. .

ICFR is a joint initiative between IDFA, European Film Academy (EFA) and International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) to support filmmakers facing persecution. It was created in the midst of a pan-European campaign calling for the release of Ukrainian director Oleg Senstov, who was held captive in Russia from 2015 to 2019.

From the start, he also lobbied for the jailing of Burmese director Ma Aeint, Turkish producer Cigdem Mater, recently sentenced to 18 years in prison on fabricated charges related to anti-government protests in Turkey, and Egyptian director Moats Abdelwahab. who was released in June after two years in prison in Cairo.

You can read the open letter in its entirety here.