Iran imposed a travel ban on prominent filmmaker Masud Kimiai over his public support for the long-running antigovernment protests. Kimiai was prevented from flying to the Netherlands on Sunday to participate in the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam after arriving at the airport in Tehran, according to reports.
Kimiai, 81, who is considered a pioneer of modern Iranian cinema, was set to attend the film festival for the screening of his latest movie, “Killing the Traitor,” a historical piece set in Iran in the 1950s.
In a video posted to social media on September 22, 2022, just days after the death of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurd woman Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country’s morality police, and days after the protests broke out, Kimiai said “They killed Mahsa Amini, and this is the main reason to rise up,” and that he was “standing with the people.” He joins many high-profile actors and artists in Iran who have expressed support for the protests; several have been arrested.