‘The truth will set you free’: unless you’re a filmmaker documenting oppressive regimes
Just recently the news broke that Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has fled to Europe ahead of his film’s premiere at Cannes, having been sentenced to eight years of prison in his native Iran, according to the Associated Press. The award-winning director had already been sentenced for three films he made that authorities found to be “propaganda against the system.”
Written by Jess Sweetman
Iran is a country known for the government’s human rights violations and violent crackdowns against those who protest its existence. Last year the Iranian director Saeed Roustayi and producer Javad Norouzbeigi were sentenced to six months of prison for screening their film “Leila’s Brothers” at Cannes, charged with creating “propaganda against the system.”
Iran, of course, is only the tip of one iceberg on the planet that isn’t melting any time soon. Filmmakers worldwide have to think about threats of funding cuts, arrest, or even death for the content of their films. And while in some places, film industries are finding a way to grow amidst the wreckage of disbanded repressive regimes, in others, the rights of filmmakers to document the world as they see it are being eroded or flat-out ignored.
According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, conducted by the non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), this year has seen a large shift away from press freedom being recognised by governments with “States and other political forces playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom.”
Clearly it’s not just Iran that’s the problem. Closer to home, the UK Government have cracked down on rights around protest, meant to stop the disruption caused by activists in the face of the current environmental catastrophe and growing wealth inequality.
According to The Guardian: “Advocacy groups such as Liberty describe these measures as an attack that is of concern to anyone who wants their voice heard.”
So what can’t you say and where?
In the rest of this article I’m going to be looking at the trends in repression of filmmakers’ free speech by governments. It is in no way a full look at the global picture, upsettingly, globally there are always more places where filmmakers are being arrested and silenced for criticising regimes, documenting movements, or sharing stories that are banned by those in power. This article seeks to give a very generalised overview and does not claim to be a full resource.
And for brevity’s sake I’m going to be focusing on three areas specifically where filmmakers are being denied funding, arrested while filmmaking, or arrested and having their lives threatened for making films: a. For documenting protest movements, b. For criticising governments and regimes, c. For criticising religion.
Because of lack of time, and it’s a whole other subject, I’m not going to be including places where you can be jailed or threatened or have your work banned for reflecting human sexuality. Being gay is still illegal in 60 countries and punishable by death in 8. And, according to Equaldex.com, distribution of LGBTQ+ content is punishable by imprisonment in 16 regions. I feel a lot about leaving this fact out of this article, especially during Pride Month, but otherwise we’d be here all week.
I’m sure I could add a lot more to this list and feel free to get in touch with me to share your thoughts.
If you would like more information, or would like to take action against crackdowns on freedom of speech for filmmakers and journalists, I’ve posted a series of links to relevant organisations at the end. I also recommend checking out Reporters Sans Frontiers 2024 world press freedom index map for a greater overview.
1. Filmmakers arrested for documenting protest movements or covering humanitarian crisis
AUSTRALIA:
According to RSF - in 2019 French journalists were arrested while filming a protest at a coal mine near the Great Barrier Reef. According to RSF:
“Reporter Hugo Clément, producer Guillaume Dumant and cameramen Clément Brelet and Victor Peressentchensky…, were charged with “trespassing” on the rail line although, unlike the protesters themselves, they were not on the line.” In May of this year, Australia moved from 27th to 39th in the RSF World Press Freedom rankings.
CANADA: In April of this year, journalist Savannah Craig, despite showing police her credentials, was arrested by Canadian authorities while covering a Pro-Palestine protest at Scotiabank’s headquarters in downtown Montreal. She is still awaiting a hearing date.
Photo by Beate Vogl
According to RSF North American Executive Director Clayton Weimers: “A malicious pattern is emerging in Canada–reporters go out into the field to cover protests or police action, then are swept up indiscriminately as police arrest demonstrators. Even if the reporter isn’t charged in the end, the effect is to intimidate, impede, and ultimately chill legitimate journalistic activity. ”
RSF continue to share that while such arrests are relatively rare, they still happen, citing the arrests of journalists Brandi Morin in January 2024 “while reporting on an Indigenous encampment” and photojournalist Amber Bracken and documentarian Michael Toledano, who were arrested “while covering the construction of a controversial natural gas pipeline in British Columbia.”
POLAND: In 2020, Polish filmmaker Agnieska Holland received a barrage of negative criticism, including from the Polish Government of the time, accusing her of “Nazism” and other atrocities for her documentary film, “Green Border”, which depicted the refugee crisis on the border of Belarus.
The filmmaker, who lives in France, was forced to hire security and cut short a return visit to her home country after her film was attacked by the far-right Law and Justice Party chief Jarosław Kaczyński.
UK: Filmmaker Liz Smith was arrested while documenting a protest during the Coronation last year. According to the Islington Tribune, the director says: “I got arrested – it’s about freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It’s about the vagueness of the [Public Order] Act and the abuse of police power.
And according to the filmmaker’s blog: “Broadly, the film is about the criminalisation of climate activists, and how the courts and the state are clamping down on them and the extended police powers we now have since the Public Order Act.”
In late 2022, The Guardian reported that a documentary photographer and filmmaker, Rich Felgate, was arrested following a Just Stop Oil Protest. According to the filmmaker, police were apparently uninterested in his press credentials. No charges were made, but the British Press Photographers Association condemned the arrest.
USA: In 2021, journalist Lev Omelchenko, a filmmaker who was arrested during a protest against a proposed Cop City in Atlanta, filed a lawsuit against the city and two police officers. According to Press Freedom Tracker, USA, the lawsuit is listed as ongoing.
In 2016, filmmaker Deia Schlosberg was arrested while documenting climate activists' attempts to shut down the TransCanada Keystone oil pipeline in North Dakota. According to the website Looper: "From the beginning, I was just dumbfounded by the charges," Schlosberg said, "they seem to come from out of nowhere...I was doing my job. I was documenting a climate action." Her prosecution was suspended a month later.
In another protest on September 3, 2016, against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a warrant was issued for Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman for filming security guards who were working for the pipeline attacking protesters. According to the news site, Goodman gave the following statement: “This is an unacceptable violation of freedom of the press…I was doing my job by covering pipeline guards unleashing dogs and pepper spray on Native American protesters.”
2. Filmmakers arrested for criticising religion or blasphemy
According to Amnesty International: The right to freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sets out in broad terms the human rights that each of us has. It was later protected legally by a raft of international and regional treaties.
Governments do, however, continue to act against filmmakers who are seen to be criticising, belittling, or otherwise disrespecting the mainstream religions of the country. Here are a few examples of where filmmakers have faced jail or more for perceived blasphemy:
Algeria: According to French newspaper Le Monde, there was a law passed in 2023 threatening a prison sentence of one to three years upon: "anyone who engages in or finances the production, shooting, distribution or exploitation of cinematographic films contrary [...] to national values and constants, the Islamic religion and other religions, national sovereignty, national unity, the unity of the national territory and the supreme interests of the nation, the principles of the Revolution of November 1, 1954, the dignity of persons" or who incites "discrimination and hate speech."
Of the 40 amendments proposed by MPs, none challenged this measure.
In 2022 filmmakers from the country protested the dissolution of the Algerian Film Fund, fearing the death of their national cinema.
India: In India, section 295A of the National Penal Code has existed since colonial rule in the 1920’s, prohibiting: “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. In addtion, section 153A prohibits “promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.”
While the right to freedom of expression is built into the indian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch: “... is not that the constitution does not guarantee free speech, but that it is easy to silence free speech because of a combination of overbroad laws, an inefficient criminal justice system, and the aforementioned lack of jurisprudential consistency.”
In 2023, Indian filmmaker Leena Manimekalai was threatened with arrest, as well as receiving hundreds of threats, because of a poster released for a documentary she had directed which showed the Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. The Canadian-based filmmaker posted the image on Twitter. According to the Hindustani Times, the case ended up at the Indian Supreme Court, where the charges were quashed. However, arguably, in times where India is struggling amidst a public fraught by differences, the law is being used more and more in order to censor films and streaming content.
According to the Associated Press, Mohamad Khairianwar Jailani, the director and co-scriptwriter of “Mentega Terbang,” and producer Tan Meng Kheng pleaded not guilty. If found guilty, they could face up to a year in jail, a fine or both.
Saudi Arabia: According to a 2020 article from the BBC, the film industry in Saudi Arabia has been flourishing since the medium was unbanned in 2014. Nowadays the country has film festivals, government financing for films, as well as filmmakers. However, according to Amnesty International, crackdowns on free speech and dramatic punishments for speaking against the government there, are still as apparent as ever, often aimed at those who speak out online.
With regards to religious freedom of speech, accordng to the US Embassy: “The law bans “the promotion of atheistic ideologies in any form,” “any attempt to cast doubt on the fundamentals of Islam,” publications that “contradict the provisions of Islamic law,” and other acts, including non-Islamic public worship, public display of non-Islamic religious symbols, conversion by a Muslim to another religion, and proselytising by a non-Muslim.”
3. Filmmakers arrested for criticising governments / regimes
Freedom of Expression is protected by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but despite this, filmmakers and journalists are frequently punished for criticising regimes. While some make the headlines with regularity, others are less-known.
According to Human Rights Watch: “efforts to control speech and information are accelerating, by both governments and private actors in the form of censorship, restrictions on access, and violent acts directed against those whose views or queries are seen as somehow dangerous or wrong.” Amnesty International cites legal precedents from Tanzania, the Philippines, and Myanmar, as examples of recent governmental attacks on journalists and press freedom.
The issue expands evermore beyond country borders as well, Human Rights Watch’s February 2024 report “We Will Find You”: a global look at how governments repress nationals abroad” delves into the attempted silencing of those who speak out against regimes - even for those who have fled the country, including journalists. The governments in question will use tactics including targeting family members, using spyware, and misusing Interpol to extradite critics.
Here are a few prominent examples of filmmakers who have suffered for criticising governments:
Afghanistan: Since the return of the Taliban in 2021, filmmakers have been fleeing the country, among them is the first women head of the Afghan Film Fund, filmmaker Saraah Karimi. She says of the current regime that they wish to silence women,
Belarus: Things aren’t looking good for freedom of expression in Belarus. According to Amnesty International: “In May, (2023) amendments to the criminal code made it even easier for authorities to mount criminal prosecutions for “crimes of an anti-state orientation” and introduced criminal liability for “discrediting” the armed forces and other government forces including paramilitaries.”
In 2021, the director of the Belarussian Watch Docs Film Festival, Tatsiana Hatsura-Yavorska was arrested for organising a photo exhibition. She was later released and had the charges dropped due to an international outcry from the industry and human rights organisations.
Burundi: According to Amnesty International, the current government in Burundi have overseen threats and silencing of their opponents, both political ones and journalists.
The celebrated documentarian Eddy Munyaneza was forced into exile in 2016 after the release of his third film, “The Third Void”, which openly criticised the country’s President Nkurunziza and his run for an unprecedented third term in office.
According to the website Artists At Risk Connection: “Despite the threats to his life, Munyaneza returned to Burundi in hiding to get additional footage for “Le troisième vide (The Third Void.)” If you have time - I absolutely recommend reading up on this filmmaker, his work, and circumstances.
China: According to Amnesty International, in 2023: “China’s legislature announced proposed amendments to the Public Security Administrative Law to ban acts, clothing and speech that is “detrimental to the Chinese national spirit or hurts the feelings of the Chinese people.”
In February 2024, Chinese authorities arrested the filmmaker Chen Pinlin, who had circulated his documentary exploring the “White Paper Movement'' protests. He has been charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and faces five years in prison if convicted.
Cuba: A screening of an unauthorised and censored version of the documentary “La Habano de Fito” by filmmaker Juan Pin on Cuban TV in 2022 prompted mass complaints by filmmakers in the country, which led to the formation of the Assembly of Filmmakers. The Assembly was a guild who aimed to work with the Cuban government to ensure more freedom for filmmakers, however this didn’t work out as it should have.
Rand Mcnally And Company Engraver. (1904) Cuba. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
Several of the filmmakers who formed the original assembly have since left the country.
Egypt: According to Human Rights Watch: the Egyptian government has been seen to be cracking down on criticism of the government, since 2018, often under the guise of “counter-terrorism.”
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists: film student and journalist Abdel-Rahman Adel al-Ansari was arrested on his way to school and imprisoned in Egypt in May 2018 as part of a crackdown on “dozens of defendants in a mass trial face charges of spreading false news and being a member of a banned group.” Adel al-Ansari was accused of working with news outlets from outside of Egypt - which the charges stated were in support of the Muslim Brotherhood, who are deemed by Egypt to be a terrorist group. He was accused of “spreading false news.”
Hungary: According to Human Rights Watch: under the current far-right government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, legislative measures have been taken to limit independent reporting by a number of means including use of spyware, political interference, and smear campaigns against journalists.
In September 2018 the European Parliament launched proceedings against Hungary, believing it to have breached the EU’s core values. In 2024, according to the AP: The European Union …launched legal action against Hungary's right-wing government over a new law that allows authorities to investigate and prosecute people accused of undermining the country's sovereignty.”
Filmmaker Gábor Reisz said in an interview with Variety: “Nobody dares to talk about politics in film and nobody dares to call things out by their name”...“Everybody’s afraid.”
Iran: The Iranian regime is well-known for their silencing of opponents. Here’s a brief overview of some of the stories emerging from filmmakers in the country:
Filmmaker Tahmineh Milani has had her films banned in the country since the 1990’s - which led to her turning to painting. Then, according to Iranwire:
“She faced the wrath of her critics once again. Her first painting exhibition was called “The Movies That I Did Not Make” and named the following ones after films she had not been allowed to produce.”
While her 2001 film THE HIDDEN HALF managed to avoid being censored, the filmmaker was arrested and imprisoned following an interview she gave about the film. She was charged with “supporting factions waging war against God” - which carries the death penalty.
According to Looper: “A petition was organized in support of her release, signed by film luminaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, and Ang Lee, among others. Milani's arrest was criticized by Iran's President Mohammad Khatami, who stated "skilled Iranians are emigrating because they believe they are subject to injustice." MIlani was released on bail a week later, and the charges were later dropped.”
In 2022, after screening his film “Leila’s Brothers'' at Cannes, filmmaker Saeed Roustaee was sentenced to six months in prison. The film was apparently screened unedited, despite “corrections” being given by the culture minister of the time.
Myanmar (Burma): Ranking 173 out of 180 countries on press freedom, according to RWB, following a coup in 2021, the country has seen a crackdown on independent media.
Award-winning journalist and documentarian Shin Daewe is serving life in prison after she went to pick up a drone. The filmmaker between “An Untitled Life, Take Me Home”, and “A Bright Future” was arrested for violating anti-terrorism laws which prevent possession of drones.
Northern Nigeria: According to the BBC: “Filmmakers in northern Nigeria's Kannywood movie industry have been told they risk a jail term if they portray violence in their work or have scenes with “cross-dressers” in them…Kano state's censorship unit says it wants to protect society as films play a huge role in shaping behaviour.”
The filmmaker Aminu Nasara has faced persecution in various guises for “promoting immorality” in his films, including being declared wanted by the Kano State Censorship Board. The filmmaker is currently in hiding.
Russia: According to Human Rights Watch, Russian authorities have been attacking freedom of expression in various guises since 2012. A lot of the laws created around this are focussed on regulating the internet in the country and punishing journalists or critics for expression using the internet.
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov was arrested while supporting protests against the annexation of Crimea by Russia in May 2014. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail he was released in 2019 and has continued making films.
In 2022, according to the Moscow Times, filmmaker Vsevolod Korolyov was sentenced to 3-years in prison for tweets he made about the war in Ukraine.
Türkiye: In the Human Rights Watch 2021 World Report, looking at freedom of expression in Türkiye, they state that: “an estimated 87 journalists and media workers were in pretrial detention or serving sentences for terrorism offences because of their journalistic work.”
In 2018, according to the Associated Press, Turkish filmmaker Ali Avci was arrested following the release of his trailer for his film “Awakening”, which was based on the failed 2016 military putsch in the country. He was sentenced by an Istanbul court to 6 years and 3 months in jail for belonging to a terrorist organisation. Gulen denies the accusation.
In February of 2024, film editor Erhan Örs was acquitted by a court in Türkiye after being arrested in June of 2023 and put on trial for editing a film. According to The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), the editor was: “accused of editing a documentary produced in 2017 by an association that carries out human rights-based activities.”
Uganda: According to the Irish Times: Filmmaker Moses Bwayo is currently seeking asylum in the USA, following facing jail for his Oscar-nominated documentary documenting the life and campaign of Bobi Wine, a musician turned politician who was looking to unseat the Ugandan President, who has been in power since 1986. Again, I would highly recommend checking out his documentary and following his story.
A glimmer of hope - where freedoms are being won
History is made up of power struggles and nothing is won without, however there continue to be glimmers of hope where governmental changes lead to freedoms being regained. Here are a few final thoughts to keep you going!
Sudan: Sudanese filmmakers were banned from working during the regime of Bashir, however, during / following the 2019 coup, where the ruler was overthrown, filmmakers began to resurge.
According to the BFI website: “Dubai-born Sudanese director Amjad Abu Alala’s debut, “You Will Die at Twenty,” is only the eighth fiction feature film ever produced in Sudan and the first to be submitted to the Academy Awards. For 30 years, Sudan’s artists and filmmakers were silenced under Omar al-Bashir’s religious regime, which ended with a coup d’état in 2019.”
It is interesting that Sudanese filmmakers are finally able to emerge and speak about their lives, following the coup and overthrow of the old regime. Unfortunately a civil war is devastating the country.
Meanwhile in Kenya - good news for freedom of expression: Accordng to Mediadefence.org - the High Court in Nakuru, struck down sections of the Kenyan Penal Code which criminalise subversion, citing them as relics of colonial oppression that curtail freedom of expression.
Resources
The following organisations are working to highlight and fight for press and artistic freedoms worldwide. I relied heavily upon these organisations to source this article.
