Iranian Director Saeed Roustaee Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Showing ‘Leila’s Brothers’ at Cannes
variety.comElsa Keslassy International Correspondent Iranian director Saeed Roustaee has been sentenced to six months to prison for showing his latest film, “Leila’s Brothers,” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, according to an Iranian report.
The Islamic Revolutionary Court convicted both Roustaee and Javad Noruzbegi for “contributing to the propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system,” according to the Iranian daily Etemad.
The nearly three-hour saga, which marked Roustaee’s debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars “The Salesman” actor Taraneh Alidoosti as one of five siblings fighting to find a way out of poverty in Tehran.
The socially-minded movie was banned in Iran last year for “breaking the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation,” according to the AFP, which quoted Iranian authorities.
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