The award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled Iran, is expected to come to the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera sources close to the film festival confirmed on Wednesday.
Rasoulof's new film, "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," is screening in competition in Cannes on Friday. A press conference is planned for Saturday.
The director was sentenced to several years in prison in Iran and left his home country without authorization a few days ago.
Celebrities have called for solidarity with Rasoulof and other persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter. German filmmakers Sandra Hüller, Franz Rogowski, Fatih Akin, Tom Tykwer and Edward Berger are among the signatories of the appeal, which was published on Wednesday.
The letter condemns the "inhuman treatment" of creative artists in Iran, who authorities are trying to "silence."
Rasoulof won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020 for his film "There is no evil." In Iran, he is considered an extremely critical filmmaker and was banned from travelling abroad again just over a year ago.