In 2020 Rassulof won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale for one of his films. In his home country of Iran, he is considered a very critical filmmaker and was imprisoned until February. Now he is apparently prevented from leaving the country.
According to activists, the Iranian filmmaker and Berlinale winner Mohammed Rassulof has been banned from leaving the country. According to the organization “Human Rights Activists News Agency” (HRANA), this was supposed to prevent the critical director from participating in the Cannes Film Festival, as the activists tweeted.
Rassulof was released from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison in mid-February after around seven months in prison. He was arrested in July last year on charges of endangering public order.
Rassulof criticized deadly house collapse
He had previously criticized the collapse of a high-rise building in the southwestern Iranian city of Abadan. Almost a year ago, more than 40 people died. Many people protested and demanded that those responsible be held accountable. The protests were violently suppressed by the security forces.
Rassulof, among others, and several other people from the Iranian film industry turned against this violence. Award-winning Iranian film director Jafar Panahi was also arrested in this connection.
Rassulof, who received the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2020 for his film “There Is No Evil”, is considered an extremely critical filmmaker in the country. Despite being banned from working for many years, he always managed to make films. He himself lived alternately in Tehran and Hamburg.