Mohammad Rasoulof’s hopes to attend the Cannes Film Festival have been dashed. The acclaimed Iranian director and dissident has been banned from leaving his home country in order to serve on the festival’s Un Certain Regard jury. READ MORE: Iran Releases Oscar-Winning Film Actress Held Over Protests According to The Hollywood Reporter, despite being granted a temporary release from prison in February due to ill health, Rasoulof is not being allowed to exit Iran.
The news comes after fellow director Jafar Panahi was allowed to leave the country for the first time in 14 years in order to visit his daughter in France.
Rasoulof is a prominent critic of the Iranian government, which has landed him in legal trouble for years, landing him in prison multiple times.
He has been banned from making movies, and for the last six years has been barred from travelling outside Iran. Despite the legal troubles, Rasoulof has continued making films, including the politically charged “There Is No Evil”, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020.
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