Filmmaker blasts Pezeshkian after travel ban reinstated

Iranian filmmaker Maryam Moghadam has criticized Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, accusing him of leading society into a “swamp of hypocrisy” rather than towards growth and reform.

She and her husband, fellow filmmaker Behtash Sanaeeha, were once again banned from leaving Iran, with their passports confiscated at the airport.

The couple had previously been barred from attending their film's premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. They were set to attend the Swedish premiere of their latest film, My Favourite Cake, on Friday, when they found out that they cannot leave.

Moghadam shared on Instagram, "Yesterday, just when I had set off to the airport to leave the country intending to pay a visit to my family in Sweden and attend our film’s premiere, my passport was confiscated at Tehran’s airport and I was informed that we (me and Behtash Sanaeeha) are barred from leaving the country again."

She highlighted that they had received their passports back only a week earlier, only to have them confiscated once more. Expressing her frustration, Moghadam questioned the authorities' motives: "It was only a week ago after our passports were given back to us. All this happened only after I had got tickets, paid the exit fees, and a lot of more expenses which had obviously gone in vain. I have really hard time to figure out why we were given back our passports when it was their intention not to let us leave. Is it because of a hidden agenda to mentally and psychologically abuse us?"

The couple co-wrote and directed the 2024 drama film My Favourite Cake, which has received international acclaim. The movie tells the story of a woman striving to live out her desires in a country where women's rights are heavily restricted.

The renewed travel ban on the two filmmakers coincided with Iran’s Cinema Day on Wednesday.

As the anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement approaches—a movement sparked by the 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini—the Independent Filmmakers Association issued a statement noting that legal cases have been filed against 300 filmmakers. The statement emphasized that in a climate where the fundamental civil rights of cinema professionals are under threat, “praising national cinema feels like a farce, turning the new presidency into a dark, bitter, and absurd black comedy.”

The association further expressed its support for those impacted, stating, "We extend congratulations not only on Cinema Day but also on the Day of Humanity to those filmmakers who have steadfastly upheld the principles of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, and continue to bear the consequences of their stance."

On Monday, Rasoul Sadr-Ameli, spokesperson for the House of Cinema, announced that this year's festival for Cinema Day would not be held, attributing the decision to the absence of these artists.

In a press conference, Sadr-Ameli remarked, "Every year, a festival was held as part of the House of Cinema celebrations, with works judged and awards presented to the best. However, we concluded that, given the absence of several filmmakers, such judging would not be fair."