Filmmakers Unite To Free Jailed Director In Iran

A host of the film industry’s biggest names have signed a petition to urge the Iranian government to free jailed filmmaker Jafar Panahi.

Robert De Niro, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, the Coen Brothers, Ang Lee, Oliver Stone and Michael Moore have put their signatures to the petition, following the arrest of the filmmaker in March.

Panahi was arrested for his vocal support of Iran’s opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi.

The petition reads: “We… stand in solidarity with a fellow filmmaker, condemn this detention, and strongly urge the Iranian government to release Mr. Panahi immediately. Like artists everywhere, Iran’s filmmakers should be celebrated, not censored, repressed and imprisoned.”