Iranian authorities have barred filmmaker Reza Dormishian from visiting the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa over his support to anti-hijab protests in the Islamic Republic. According to Variety, Dormishian is the most recent representative of Iranian cinema to face sanctions from the Iranian regime due to his expression of anti-regime opinions.
READ | Pak authorities arrest PTI senator for tweets against military officials
The IFFI had invited Dormishian for ‘A Minor,’ a movie he produced. The movie, directed by Dariush Mehrjui, was scheduled to play in the competition. He did not, however, receive permission from the Iranian government to leave the country.
Although Dormishian’s passport was taken away at the airport, it was not immediately known whether the filmmaker was detained or not. It is believed that the filmmaker’s criticism of the Iranian government on social media over the past few weeks is directly related to the actions taken against him, the report added.
Dormishian has been sharing various posts on his Instagram account to show support for anti-hijab protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman in morality police custody. She was detained and kept in custody for violating the country’s strict dress regulations for women.
READ | People March: Mexican president walk with ten of thousands in support of his governance
Earlier, Mohammad Rosoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, two Iranian filmmakers, were detained in July for releasing a statement on social media in the wake of a violent government arrest, according to Variety.
Since then, Iran has barred at least three filmmakers from leaving the country. In October, as Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi was about to board a plane to travel to the BFI London Film Festival, his passport was seized at the airport.
