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Iranwire – Iranian filmmakers Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam have been sentenced to prison for their film “My Favorite Cake”, along with producer Gholamreza Mousavi.
The filmmakers said on Monday that after visiting Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court following the Nowruz holidays, they were informed of the verdicts against them as the first, second, and third defendants in the case.
The court sentenced the directors to 14 months of suspended imprisonment for “propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic.”
All three defendants also received one-year suspended prison terms for “participating in the production of obscene content,” along with the confiscation of equipment.
“My Favorite Cake”, despite having a production permit, was filmed in Iran with actors Lili Farhadpour and Esmail Mehrabi without adhering to mandatory hijab requirements.
The film follows an elderly woman living alone in Tehran as she confronts loneliness.
My Favorite Cake won the FIPRESCI Jury Prize at Berlinale and the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival.
The filmmakers are now on trial as part of a wider crackdown on independent artists who push back against state restrictions.
