"No other choice"

Cannes director Rassulof fled from Iran

Director Mohammed Rassulof was previously imprisoned in Iran.(Bild: AP/APA/Francois Mori)

Director Mohammed Rassulof has given an insight into his recent escape from his home country of Iran. "I had no other choice," the filmmaker told the magazine "Screen International".

 The premiere of Rassulof's new film "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" is planned for Friday in Cannes. Rassulof is expected to be present. The director was sentenced to several years in prison in Iran and left the country without permission a few days ago.

Learned about prison sentence during undercover filming
Rassulof said that he was in the middle of undercover filming for "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" when he found out about the sentence. He appealed and was able to complete the film during this time. After the end of filming, the court of appeal confirmed the sentence.

Rassulof had two hours to escape
"I knew then that I would have very little time before they would actually come and arrest me," said Rassulof.

"So I had two hours to decide whether I would stay and possibly go to jail or flee, and that's what I did. In those two hours, I decided to leave all my electronic devices at home and let them take me to a safe place before I crossed the border and left the country."

Rassulof is considered an extremely critical filmmaker in the country. Despite being banned from his profession for many years, he managed to make films again and again. He has previously been imprisoned in Iran.