Actor Noah Centineo touched down at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend to rally support for Saeed Roustaee, an Iranian filmmaker sentenced to prison by his government over the latter’s film “Leila’s Brothers.”
Over Friday cocktails at festival headquarters, the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the “Black Adam” star appealed to top representatives from film festivals around the world on behalf of Roustaee, who was sentenced to six months in prison after screening his feature at the Cannes Film Festival without authorization from Iran’s culture ministry. Furthermore, he would not amend the film after the ministry requested corrections. He was formally charged with “anti-regime propaganda activity” and will be banned from directing for five years.
“I am here for a friend. A friend who knows viscerally that freedom of expression is a gift and that it is not free, as much as it should be a basic human right,” Centineo told the group. “He knows it needs to be fought for and protected and I know it’s not every day that artists can come together to take a stand and protect one of their own in such a dire situation.”
Centineo first met Roustaee when both served on the jury at Festival International du Film de Biarritz in June. Additional figures to show support for Roustaee include Martin and Franchesca Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. In addition to his own remarks, Centineo read a letter from journalists Yeganeh and Jason Rezaian, who were arrested and served time in the same prison that Roustaee will report to.
“We know these circumstances well. My husband Jason and I were journalists in Tehran, my hometown, when we were arrested in our homes simply for reporting the news, transparently and with permission. I was held for nearly three months in solitary confinement and he spent a year-and-a-half behind bars,” wrote Yeganeh Rezaian, as read by Centineo.
“Since our release, we have dedicated much of our time for elevating and advocating for other creatives in Iran who have suffered a similar fate. He as a columnist for The Washington Post and me as a researcher and advocate at The Committee to Protect Journalists,” she concluded. “Please do not let them silence Saeed. Use your voices to be his voice.”
A Change.org petition was posted in mid-August to appeal Roustaee’s sentence. He is currently awaiting a new court session.
