Moroccan Directors Pull Film from Tehran Festival in Solidarity with Iranian Protesters

"The presence of our film at the festival would be tantamount to ignoring the struggle of the oppressed people in Iran for their rights," the two Moroccan directors confided. In a statement, Adil El Arbil and Bilall Fallah said they had not been officially informed of the selection of their film. For them, with the theme developed by "Rebel", it would be inconceivable to participate in such a festival when voices and freedoms are being oppressed. They say they are showing their support for Iranian director Jafar Panahi, arrested on July 20 in Tehran and held in prison since then, reports bx1.

The Moroccan directors are not the only ones to make this decision. Before them, their Belgian counterparts Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne withdrew their film "Tori and Lokita" from the list of selected films for the same festival. Iran is experiencing major protests since the death in prison last September of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for "violating the strict dress code applied to women in Iran". The repression of these demonstrations has already led to the arrest of more than 14,000 people, including four men executed, according to the UN.