THE PHILIPPINES

September has been declared Philippine Film Industry Month 2021 in a celebration initiated by The Philippine Film Archive and the Film Development Council of The Philippines. To celebrate the 100-year history of cinema-going and filmmaking in the island nation, SCREEN-SPACE casts an eye over the history* of the Filipino film sector... 

Under Spanish rule, European entrepreneurs introduced the new ‘Moving Image’ artform to the people of The Philippines. A pair of Swiss travellers screened documentary clips of European current events in Manila as early as 1897. But it was the exchange of the nation’s governance to the United States in 1898, that truly launched the new technology known as ‘cine’ to the island nation. 

Audiences at Manila movie houses, such as Cinematografo, Cine Walgrah, Cinematografo Rizal and Gran Cinematografo Parisien would sit enthralled by a steady stream of newsreel and short silent films, making cinema-going one of Manila’s favourite pastimes.

Competition to be the first Filipino movie was fierce as the potential for profit was large. The first to start shooting was La Vida de Rizal, a large-scale epic about the revered Philippine national hero Jose Rizal. When word spread about the production, a cheaper version named La Pasion Y Muerte de Dr. Rizal was hurried before the cameras. Both premiered on August 24, 1913 to rousing business, though much publicity was generated of the feud between the two production outfits.

The steady flow of newsreels and short features inspired a young man named Jose Nepomuceno, and led to one of the most influential careers in the history of Philippine cinema. After forming the production company Malayan Movies, Nepomuceno made the first full-length Filipino film Dalagang Bukid in 1919 (pictured, right). He would also contribute immeasurably to the chronicling of Philippine history, as a regional newsreel representative for Paramount News and Pathe.  

Along with his contemporaries Vicente Salumbides, Carmen Concha and Julian Manansala, Nepomuceno would mentor local talent via extensive workshopping in his many production companies. He is regarded as the ‘Grandfather of Philippino Cinema’, having produced such landmark films as La Venganza de Don Silvestre (1920), La Mariposa Negra (1920), El Capullo Marchito (1921), Hoy o Nunca, Besame (1923) and the film many regard as the country’s greatest work, Noli Me Tangere (1930). He would also produce one of the first local sound pictures, Punyal na Ginto (1932). The first Filipino movie to achieve international recognition was Zamboanga (1937), starring Fernando Poe and Rosa del Rosario.

The Japanese occupation of The Philippines had a devastating effect on local film production. Stories reflecting nationalistic themes, especially the comedies which celebrated the population’s naturally optimistic view of life, were replaced by Japanese propaganda pictures that were forcibly produced by Manila’s production community. Only two films that embraced their Filipino heritage, Gerardo de Leon’s Tatlong Maria and Abe Yutaka’s Dawn of Freedom, were produced under Japanese rule, though both were heavily censored.

Post-war Philippine cinema is marked by films that celebrated the heroics of war and were influenced by the gung-ho militarism of the American troops, who were overseeing the reconstruction of the devastated city of Manila. At the forefront of this rejuvenating period for local film production were the directors Manuel Conde (Orasang Ginto, 1945; Genghis Khan, 1950, pictured, right), Octavio Silos (Ulila ng Watawat, 1946), Manuel Silos  (Victory Joe, 1946), Dr. Gregorio Fernandez (Garrison 13, 1946), The Nolasco Brothers (Fort Santiago, 1946), Lamberto Avellana (Death March, 1946), Oscar del Rosario (Multo ni Yamashita, 1947), and Carlos Vander Tolosa (Krus ng Digma, 1947).

This boom in production and the advancements in technology that were impacting global cinema led to what is regarded as the Golden Era of Philippine cinema. A genre known as ‘komiks’ – adventure films adapted from the serialized novels of the day – became phenomenally successful. Films based on komiks with titles such as Hagibis, Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo, Salabusab, Malvarosa, Darna, Roberta, Darna at Ang Babaing Lawin, Dyesebel, Bondying and Kenkoy were just a few of the blockbusters of the period. 

The four newly-established Manila based studios - Sampaguita (pictured, above; in 1945), LVN, Premiere and Lebran - experienced a boom period like the industry had never seen thanks to ‘komiks’, as well as the imported genre films from Europe and the US, which would be dubbed locally. The first full-colour feature was produced in 1951 – the komik adaptation Prinsipe Amante, which is regarded as one of the very first and finest Asian colour films. 

Teen romance and rock’n’roll romps were popular; films featuring the pairings of such lovebirds as ‘Tita and Pancho’ and ‘Nida and Nestor’ (pictured, right) served the rebellious teenage spirit of the decade. Also commercially potent were the ‘child star’ films, making household names of Tessie Agana (the blockbuster hit, Roberta, 1951); Mila Nimfa (Basag na Manika, 1951); Helen Grace Prospero (Rita Rits, 1952); and, Manuel Ubaldo (Ang Magpapawid, 1950; Anak Ko!, 1951; Kamay ni Hugo, 1952).

Fees and public dissatisfaction with increasingly lowbrow content saw the film industry buckle in the 1960s. Director Gerardo de Leon was determined to make artistically noteworthy films - Huwag mo Akong Limutin (1960); Kadenang Putik (1960); Noli Me Tangere (1961); and, El Filibusterismo (1962). But commercial western cinema imports were booming in The Philippines, and local producers tried to match their appeal with such curiosities as Filipino samurai, kung fu masters and Filipino ‘James Bonds’. The horror and fantasy genres helped bolster the local sector from this point forward, with productions like Eddie Romero’s Brides of Blood (1968), the first of several splatter-pics featuring US import John Ashley, finding broad audience favour.

The most potent box-office juggernaut of the period was ‘The Bomba Film’, a movement that began the re-establishment of domestic cinema in earnest. The Bomba film, led by filmmakers such as Lino Brocka (Stardoom, 1971), Ishmael Bernal (Pagdating Sa Dulo, 1971) and Mike de Leon (Kisapmata, 1981), was one that reacted against society’s mores and aimed to shock – pornography and violence were central to a Bomba film’s mission, and local audiences responded in droves. The very first Filipino Bomba film was Uhawin 1970 starring Merle Fernandez, the daughter of one of Philippine cinema’s pioneer directors, Gregorio Fernandez. 

Under President Marcos’ martial law, cinema was co-opted as a tool of ‘The New Society’ and strict oversight was implemented. The first step was to control the content of movies via censorship, with the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (BCMP) stipulating the submission of a finished script prior to filming. Marcos’ regime walked a fine line with the film sector, exerting dictatorial might but also allowing for the sector to survive, given its importance as a propaganda tool.  

A softer, more subtle method of social subversity was required, and so the ‘wet look’ genre was born, largely featuring female stars swimming or taking a bath in their underwear, and probably being chased and ravaged in a river, sea, or under a waterfall. The most successful ‘wet look’ film was Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa (The Most Beautiful Animal on the Face of the Earth, 1974) starring former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz (pictured, right).

From this period would emerge one of the sector's most  revered directors, Lino Brocka. His impact upon Asian cinema whilst his nation was in the grip of the Marcos regime remains, in hindsight, one of the great acts of defiant artistry. He is remembered for such works as Manila in the Claws of Light (1975); Insiang (1976); You Were Weighed but Found Wanting (1974); his Cannes competitor Bayan Ko: My Own Country (1984); White Slavery (1985); and, Fight for Us (1989).     

It would be in 1977, when Kidlat Tahimik won the International Critics Prize at the Berlin Film Festival with Mababangong Bangungot (Perfumed Nightmare; pictured, right), that the cinema of The Philippines re-engaged a global focus. This was the period when veteran director Celso Ad. Castillo flourished - Burlesk Queen (1977) the epic romance Pagputi ng uwak... Pag-itim ng tagak (1978); the first of his Virgin People trilogy (1984, then 1996, 2002); and, the acclaimed Paradise Inn (1985).

The establishment in 1981 of The Film Academy of the Philippines saw a streamlining of production and funding entities and, inspired by the socially-aware output of the 1970’s and groundswell of opposition against the Marcos government, a new generation of filmmakers were finding voice. Eddie Romero’s Palaban (1980); Gil Portes’ Iiyak ka rin (1983); Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Karnal (1984); Mike de Leon’s Sister Stella L. (1984); Nick Deocampo’s Oliver (1983);  Raymond Red’s Ang Magpakailanman (1983); and, Ishmael Bernal’s classic Hinugot sa Langit (1985) were some of the decade's best films.

But commercial interests, fuelled by the booming home entertainment market and the rise of the video pirate, began to dictate the quality of the nation’s films. By the 1990s, porn, grisly B-action (the infamous ‘chop chop’ genre) and slapstick comedy began to dominate; directors such as Toto Natividad (Hangga't may hininga, 1996) contributed groundbreaking action aesthetics, but such inventiveness was scarce. Additionally, a 30% tax on gross box-office revenues (reduced to 10% in 2009) was instituted. Despite producing around 200 films annually, factors such as the financial crisis, film piracy and cable-TV meant producers further trimmed film budgets. This was the era of ‘pito-pito’, or ‘seven-seven’ films - shoots of 14 days or less.

The new century saw a rebirth in Philippine cinema on the back of digital filming advancements. Films that led Philippine cinema out of its mired state and back to the forefront of Asian and international cinema included Gil Portes’ Mga Munting Tinig (2002), Maryo J. de los Reyes’ Magnifico (2003), Auraeus Solito’s Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005), Adolf Alix’s Donsol (2006), Jeffrey Jeturian’s Kubrador (2006; pictured, right) and Jim Libiran’s Tribu (2007). International cinema has lauded the works of Lav Diaz, who debuted as a director with 1998’s The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion, and has released such slow-cinema masterpieces as Naked Under the Moon (1999), Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004) Norte, The End of History (2013), From What is Before (2014) and The Woman Who Left (2016) 

In 2008, The Philippines film industry celebrated when Brillante Mendoza’s Serbis became the first Filipino full-length film to compete in the Cannes Film Festival since internationally acclaimed director Lino Brocka's Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim 16 years earlier; also in 2008, Ellen Ramos’ The Inmate became the first Filipino film to compete in competition at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

The sector continues to grow, led by such filmmaking talents as Antoinette Jadaone (Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay, 2011); Maribel Legarda (Melodrama negra, 2012), Erik Matti (On the Job, 2013); Christopher Ad Castillo (The Diplomat Hotel, 2013; In Darkness We Live, 2014); Mario Cornejo (Apocalypse Child, 2015, pictured, right); and, Mikhail Red (Rekorder, 2013; Birdshot, 2016). Industry institutions with progressive agendas such as the Film Academy of The Philippines, The Philippine Film Archive and the Film Development Council of The Philippines are ensuring that the century-old legacy of the film sector and the emergence of exciting new visionaries moving forward will continue to strengthen The Philippine film sector as a regional powerhouse. 

*All care was taken in compiling this information, collected from various sources online. We do not claim it to be a whole and complete history, so please forgive any notable omissions and do feel free to contact us with any verifiable corrections.

"I DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR SILENCE": A PLEA FOR HELP FROM THE AFGHAN FILM COMMUNITY

Sahraa Karimi, one of Afghanistan's most acclaimed filmmakers, has delivered a desperate message to the global film and media community in the wake of the Taliban uprising in her homeland. Published via her social pages, Karimi has used her role as General Director of the Kabul-based Afghan Film Organisation (AFO) to plead for international aid on behalf of her people and the artistic community, providing moments of insight into the abject terror of life under Taliban rule. Her message* is reproduced below...

“To all the Film Communities in The World and [Those] Who Love Film and Cinema,

My name is Sahraa Karimi, a film director and the current General Director of Afghan Film, the only state-owned film company, established in 1968. I write to you with a broken heart and a deep hope that you can join me in protecting my beautiful people, especially filmmakers, from the Taliban. 

The Taliban have gained control of so many provinces. They have massacred our people, kidnapped many children, sold girls as child brides to their men. They have murdered women for their attire, gauged the eyes of a woman; they tortured and murdered one of our beloved comedians, murdered one of our historian poets, murdered the head of culture and media for the government. People affiliated with the government have been assassinated, some hanged publicly. 

Hundreds of thousands of families have been displaced, fleeing to camps in Kabul where they live in unsanitary conditions. There is looting in the camps, babies dying because they don’t have milk. It is a humanitarian crisis, and yet the world is silent.

We have grown accustomed to this silence, yet we know it is not fair. We know that this decision to abandon our people is wrong; that this hasty troop withdrawal is a betrayal of our people and all that we did when Afghans won the Cold War for the west. Our people were forgotten then, leading up to the Taliban’s dark rule, and now, after twenty years of immense gains for our country and especially our younger generations, all could be lost again in this abandonment.

We need your voice. The media, governments, and the world humanitarian organizations are conveniently silent as if this “Peace Deal” with the Taliban was ever legitimate. It was never legitimate. Recognizing them gave them the confidence to come back to power. The Taliban have been brutalizing our people throughout the entire process of the talks. 

Everything that I have worked so hard to build as a filmmaker in my country is at risk of falling. If the Taliban take over they will ban all art. Filmmakers, including myself, could be next on their hit list. They will strip women’s rights, we will be pushed into the shadows of our homes and our voices, our expression will be stifled into silence. 

When the Taliban were in power, zero girls were in school. Since then, there are over 9 million Afghan girls getting an education. This is incredible. Herat, the third-largest city, had nearly 50% women in its university; it is now under Taliban control. These are incredible gains that the world hardly knows about. In just a few weeks, the Taliban have destroyed many schools and 2 million girls are forced now out of school again.

I do not understand this world. I do not understand your silence. I will stay and fight for my country, but I cannot do it alone. I need allies like you. Please help us get this world to care about what is happening to us. Please help us by informing your countries’ most important media what is going on here in Afghanistan. Be our voices outside Afghanistan. If the Taliban take over Kabul, we may not have access to the internet or any communication tool at all. Please engage your filmmakers, artists to support us to be our voice.

This war is not a civil war, this is a proxy war; an imposed war that is the result of the US deal with the Taliban. Please share this fact and write about us on your social media. The world should not turn its back on us. We need your support and your voice on behalf of Afghan women, children, artists, and filmmakers. This support would be the greatest help we need right now.

Please help us get this world to not abandon Afghanistan. Please help us before the Taliban take over Kabul. We have such little time, maybe days. Thank you so much. 

I appreciate your pure, true heart, so dearly.

With regards, 

Sahraa Karimi.”

*Some minor edits for space.

KINOSCOPE STRANDS, NEW TALENT INITIATIVE FORGING AHEAD ONLINE AT SARAJEVO FILM FEST

At 26, the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) is still a young festival by European standards. Youthful exuberance permeates the 2020 program, with no strand more indicative of progressive, cutting-edge curation than the Kinoscope selection, which this year presents a 15 film roster of the best in international cinema via the festivals’ recently-launched online portal.

The SFF Directorate moved from its planned hybrid festival to a wholly virtual event when the Civil Protection Headquarters of Sarajevo Canton and the Federal Ministry of Health issued a COVID-19 action plan on August 4 that included "recommendations to the population in the Federation of [Bosnia and Herzegovina] to avoid public gatherings and limit their movement due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation.” 

Festival organisers, who had employed measures to meet the August 14 launch that allowed for open-air screenings and adhered to social-distancing rules, reacted immediately. The full program, including the Opening night film Concentrate Grandma from director Pjer Žalica (pictured, right), moved to ondemand.sff.ba and will be available to all residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbours.

In addition to the core In Focus strand, which presents ten features from the region, and the 49 films vying for honours in the Competitive Programs, the SFF Kinoscope highlights contemporary themes and global film trends. Established in 2012, Kinoscope is programmed by producer and curation veteran Mathilde Henrot and Alessandro Raja (pictured, below), founder of the Festival Scope platform. In 2020, the pair have selected works representing 14 countries, including eight unique visions from women directors.

Under the ‘Kinoscope’ banner, SFF will present Guillaume Brac’s French road-trip comedy, À l'abordage (All Hands on Deck), starring Eric Nantchouang and Asma Messaoudene; Hong Sang-soo’s minimalist drama Domangchin Yeoja (The Woman Who Ran), winner of the 2020 Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Director; the Danish crime family drama Kød & blod (Wildland), from Jeanette Nordahl; Gagarin, the breakout Cannes 2020 hit from co-directors Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’ and, Kitty Green’s understated but blistering post-Weinstein/#MeToo statement, The Assistant, with Julia Garner.

‘Kinoscope Real’ offers five works of potent social relevance, presented across a diverse range of genres. The ability for cinema to bring hope to a family in wartorn Donbas is documented in Iryna Tsilyk’s Ukrainian/Lithuanian co-production, Zemlia Blakytna Niby Apel'syn (The Earth is Blue as an Orange); fellow Ukrainian Valentyn Vasyanovych’s bleak, PTSD-themed scifi-er, Atlantis; Garagenvolk (Garage People), director Natalija Yefimkina’s insight into the garage-dwelling communities of Russia’s frozen north; Camilo Restrepo’s revenge thriller Los Conductos (Encounters), a French/Colombian/Brazilian co-pro that chronicles of a man seeking redemption through the killing of a sect leader; and, from the enclaved kingdom of Lesotho in South Africa, the spiritually uplifting eco-drama This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection from filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese.

Finally, the artistically fearless films of the ‘Kinoscope Surreal’ selection. These include Shirley, Josephine Decker’s descent into the mad literary mind of author Shirley Jackson, featuring a vivid turn in the title role by Elizabeth Moss; Noah Hutton’s low-tech scifi vision of a man-vs-robot workplace, Lapsis; UK director Rose Glass’ acclaimed thriller Saint Maud, a study in the dangers of hardline religious beliefs as seen through a complex female relationship; the Australian festival hit Relic, starring Emily Mortimer and Bella Heathcote as the mother and daughter who must cope with the horrific manifestations of a matriarch’s dementia; and, South Korean auteur Kim Yong-Hoon’s bag-of-cash mystery/thriller, Beasts that Cling to Straw (pictured, right).

At time of publishing, all these films will be available to Bosnia and Herzegovina residents via the festival screening platform. Also scheduled to be broadcast online will be accompanying programs, lectures and interviews with authors, including the 14th edition of the industry development program Talents Sarajevo, featuring 62 young candidates chosen from the filmmaking communities of Southeast Europe and the South Caucasus.

The SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL will commence August 14 at 8.00pm CEST and run until August 21. Visit the event’s Official Website for further details.

THE LIST: NINE GREAT FIRST-NATION FILMS

Indigenous history and culture has too often been poorly misrepresented on film or filtered through well-meaning but simplified stereotypes. As more and more Indigenous filmmakers emerge, all audiences enjoy the benefits of losing themselves in an abundance of stories drawn from lived experience. Here are nine standouts...

U.S.A.: SMOKE SIGNALS (Dir: Chris Eyre, 1998; pictured, above) A road-trip drama that connects the histories and destinies of Victor (Adam Beach) and Thomas (Evan Adams), who grew up together along the Spokane River on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. Victor must retrieve his father, but Thomas is the only one who can help him get there. Of Cheyenne/Arapaho heritage, Eyre crafted a film now considered a contemporary classic, beloved by Native American audiences for its non-stereotypical characterisations and understanding of modern reservation living. In 2018, the film was placed on the National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board.

BRAZIL: THE LEGEND OF UBIRAJARA (Dir: André Luiz Oliveira, 1975) Son of an Araguaia chief, Ubirajara (Tatau) spies Araci (Taíse Costa) on the shore. He pursues her, leading to a battle with Pojuca (Roberto Bonfim), the mightiest Tocantim warrior. But Ubirajara and Araci have fallen in love; when the truth is revealed, a war breaks out between the two villages. Spoken entirely in Karaja, this pre-Columbian adventure is considered to be one of the most naturalistic film portrayals of tribal life.

CANADA: ATANARJUAT THE FAST RUNNER (Dir: Zacharias Kunuk, 2001) Centuries ago, in the Canadian Arctic, Atuat (Sylvia Ivalu) is promised to the tribal leader’s son Oki (Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq), but instead falls in love with the good-natured Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq). Oki learns of their love and sets about enacting a terrible revenge on Atanarjuat. The first Inuktitut-language feature film, it is the only Canadian film to win the Camera d'Or for best first feature film at the Cannes Film Festival. The now iconic ‘nude run’ over the sea of ice left Ungalaaq with deep cuts all over his bare feet.

ARGENTINA: LA NACIÓN OCULTA (Dir: Juan Carlos Martínez, 2011) Ñaalec (Fabián Valdez), a disenchanted Moqoit college student, seeks to deepen his connection to culture. He travels to the Nanaicalo Nqote ("Eye of the Dragon"), a sacred lake whose water gave people the power of the gods. This docudrama is part of a series of community-created films supported by Cinematography Education and Production Center (CEFREC) led by Iván Sanjinés, son of legendary Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjinés.

NEW ZEALAND: MAURI (Dir: Merata Mita, 1988; pictured, right) Pioneering filmmaker Merata Mita became the first Māori woman to write and direct a dramatic feature with Mauri (translated as ‘life force’). Set around a love triangle in a small East Coast village, it explores cultural tensions, identity, and changing societal ways. Along with Ngāti (1987), Mauri was at the forefront of the emerging Māori screen industry. The crew numbered 33 Māori craftspeople (indigenous artist Ralph Hotere was production designer); the cast included the great Anzac Wallace (Utu, 1983; The Quiet Earth, 1985) and Māori activist Eva Rickard. A NZFC-financed restoration screened at the 2019 Venice Biennale.

COLOMBIA: EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (Dir: Ciro Guerra, 2015) The story of the relationship between Karamakate (Nilbio Torres), an Amazonian shaman and lone survivor, and two scientists, who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. The first Colombian film to earn a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination and utilising four indigenous tongues (Cubeo, Wanano, Tikuna and Uitoto), the film derives its title from the great Amazon River, which carries the lead characters deep into the jungle. The regional government decorated the non-indigenous Guerra with the Order of the Inírida Flower for "exalting the respect and value of the indigenous populations”.

MACEDONIA: HONEYLAND (Dirs: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov, 2019) The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save her bees and return the natural balance to her hives when a family of nomadic beekeepers threaten her livelihood. Nominated for two Academy Awards, the heartbreaking plight of traditional beekeeper Hatidze Muratova became a cause celebre on the 2019 arthouse circuit. The production shot for nearly three years and accumulated over 400 hours of footage. After the first wave of festival wins, the producers bought Hatidze a house with water and electricity close to the capital of Skopje; she still tends to her bees several days a week.

SAMOA: THE ORATOR (Dir: Tusi Tamasese, 2011). Samoan-born, NZ-trained director Tamasese made his debut with the island nation’s first feature film in the Samoan language with an indigenous cast. Set amidst lush tropical jungles and hand-toiled farmlands, it relates the outsider’s journey of Saili (Fa'afiaula Sanote), a little person and taro farmer, whose destiny is derailed when he is denied his father's chiefly status, threatening his family plantation. Tamasese takes care to respectfully depict Samoan family bonds (fa'aSamoa) and traditions such as evening prayer time (sa) and ritual atonement (ifoga) in a film that unfolds at a gentle pace but remains dramatically compelling.

AUSTRALIA: RADIANCE (Dir: Rachel Perkins, 1998) To mourn their mother’s passing, Aboriginal sisters Nona (Deborah Mailman) and Cressy (Rachael Maza) return to their childhood home where their third sister, Mae (Trisha Morton-Thomas), cared for the matriarch in her final years. With time to talk, drink and fight, the sister’s drag family secrets out that have festered for generations. A turning point in Australian storytelling, Perkin’s directorial debut tackled heritage, legacy and family in a contemporary setting. Fellow debutant Mailman earned the AFI Best Actress award.

EUROPEAN SECTOR CONDEMNS IRAN FOR PERSECUTION OF FILMMAKER

Heads of the European film sector have spoken in unison condemning the imminent incarceration of Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. The director of the 2020 Berlinale Golden Bear winner There is No Evil, a film that casts a critical eye on the consequences of life under authoritarian rule, has been summoned by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Offenses Relating to Media and Culture to serve one year in prison.

This comes after the Iranian Revolutionary Court sentenced the filmmaker (pictured, above) to one year in prison, with a two-year prohibition against working as a director, for alleged propaganda against the government, in July 2019. The internationally acclaimed Rasoulof, an Un Certain Regard winner for his films Lerd (2017) and Au Revoir (2011), is also under a two-year ban on leaving the country and becoming involved in any social or political activity.

"Summoning me to serve my prison sentence only reveals a small fraction of the intolerance and anger that is characteristic of the Iranian regime’s response to criticism,” Rasoulof says. “Many cultural activists are in prison for criticizing the government." He also points out that Iranian prisons are a hotbed for the Covid-19 virus, with conditions unlikely to change under the current regime. “These conditions call for an immediate response from the international community," he says. (Pictured, right; Baran Rasoulof, daughter of the director, and Ehsan Mirhosseini in There is No Evil). 

Institutions that have declared their support for Rasoulof are The European Film Academy, The Cannes Film Festival, the Deutsche Filmakademie, the Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, the Filmfest Hamburg, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the Netherlands Film Fund and the Accademia del cinema italiano-Premi David di Donatello. The bodies have collectively called for the charges against him to be retracted and the travel ban against him to be lifted immediately and unconditionally.

Via a press statement, President of the European Film Academy, Wim Wenders, declared, "Our colleague Mohammad Rasoulof is an artist who keeps telling us about a reality we would otherwise know little about. There is No Evil is a deeply humane portrait of people in extreme situations, situations no human should be forced to experience. We need voices like that of Mohammad Rasoulof, voices defending human rights, freedom and dignity." (Pictured, left; actress Baran Rasoulof at the Berlin Film Festival, with her father and director on the phone, following his Golden Bear win).

Ulrich Matthes, President of the Deutsche Filmakademie, adds “His deeply humane films about freedom and oppression have reached so many people worldwide. He is a representative master of Iranian cinema: a rich film culture that has provided us with some of the most compelling stories about the human condition. Mohammad Rasoulof’s films not only tell us about life in Iran but also speak to us in the universal language of cinema to promote empathy and peace."

The European voices are also demanding Rasoulof’s health and safety be ensured and that film festivals, cinema chains and all artists globally make their protestations known to Iranian officials and embassy staff in their region.