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ICFR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER — #3-2024
Solutions & Resolutions for 2025
ICFR continues into a new year of filmmakers at risk
cases — projects — partnerships
Dear partners, supporters & friends,
To document human rights violations and governmental repression, war crimes and man-made atrocities, and to translate those to film and audiovisual journalism, has become more vital than ever — but dangerous to those doing so, such as filmmakers in Myanmar, Georgia, and Iran; and even fatal to our colleagues in Ukraine and, especially, in Gaza, where at least 146 film workers and journalists have been killed since October 7, 2023 (according to the Committee to Protect Journalists).
Time and again, these filmmakers and their films, voices and stories, that bear witness and speak truth to power, prove essential in making this world a more just and liveable place for all. One current example is the film No Other Land by Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor & Hamdan Ballal, a courageous collaboration between Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers/activists, travelling a bumpy road through European censorship and other backlash to eventually end up on screens around the world, touching and illuminating audiences far and wide.
As an organization, we draw lessons from situations like theirs. These are the kinds of risk that we might not always anticipate or expect — and this is why we continue to stand up for film workers anywhere in our world. If anything, our commitment — to supporting our colleagues at severe and acute risk of persecution, imprisonment, and worse — is stronger than ever before.
Over this past year, we are grateful that we have been able to contribute meaningfully to a wide range of cases (such as Erhan Örs, Jade Castro, and most recently, Andrei Gnyot and Navid Mihandoust — see below), with others strictly behind the scenes so as to not further complicate the situations of filmmakers in, for example, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Palestine.
As always, the fight is far from over. Colleagues such as Çiğdem Mater (Turkey), Shin Daewe (Myanmar) and Ikram Nurmehmet (China) have been incarcerated with indefensibly long sentences, and together with our partners, we are constantly exploring new routes to increase the pressure of the international film community onto those respective governments.
Moving forward, your support continues to be deeply appreciated. We thank our existing strategic partners and affiliates for their financial contributions and in-kind support, especially in amplifying our calls and statements within their own networks. Should you wish to donate to our efforts, or partner with us, we encourage you to get in touch!
As a charity organization with a small but dedicated team, we know how overpowering the many issues facing our world can often seem... But we go into this new year with a strong focus, with a sense of being supported in what we do, and with the aspiration to make the most out of even the smallest bit of hope. We wish you all that, and more, for 2025.
INDIVIDUAL Cases
At the start of this new year, we urgently ask for your attention for several deeply concerning situations involving our colleagues in China, Myanmar, Türkiye, and Iran.
⭕ In China, the Uyghur filmmaker IKRAM NURMEHMET has recently been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison by the Chinese authorities, who allege that Ikram's film studies in Turkey more than a decade ago were a "participation in terrorist activities" — an accusation based on a false confession that was forced out of him under torture. We urgently decry this violation of human rights and call on our colleagues around the world to put pressure on China to release Ikram Nurmehmet immediately and unconditionally.
⭕ A similarly objectionable course of legal events has resulted in lifetime imprisonment for Myanmar documentary filmmaker SHIN DAEWE. At a closed military tribunal at which she was allowed no legal representation, she was sentenced to this shocking punishment all because of the possession of a drone highly common for documentary filmmaking. We continue to share Shin Daewe’s family's concern for her health and well-being, and call on our network to amplify our attempt to pressure the Myanmar government to release her immediately.
⭕ Turkish film producer ÇIĞDEM MATER is, unfortunately, still in prison in Turkey, living through the third of the staggering 18 years she has been sentenced to be incarcerated for — all for a film (about the Gezi Park protests back in 2013) she never even made to begin with.
Together with our partners at Altyazi Fasikül, we have embarked on a project to keep up visibility for Çiğdem's situation: we have designed a plate for filmmakers to include in their festival DCP's, and we are welcoming written contributions about "films you have dreamed of but haven't (yet) made". If you wish to participate and want to know more, please shoot us an email!
⭕ In Iran, we continue to monitor the situations of a.o. MARYAM MOGHADAM & BEHTASH SANAEEHA, ZAHRA SHAFIEE DEHAGHANI, MOSTAFA AL-AHMAD and JAFAR PANAHI, all of whom are still in the thrall of the authorities' persecution efforts and travel bans. We remain in contact with filmmaker MOHAMMAD RASOULOF after he went into exile in May, especially to keep an eye on his last film's crew and cast still living under threat in Iran.
⭕/— There have been developments in the case of filmmaker NAVID MIHANDOUST, though not yet concrete. Towards the end of December, the Iranian and international film industry's support appeared to have resulted in Navid's release from prison. However, as of early January, his release on parole has still not been finalized and he has had to return to prison in the meantime. We monitor the situation closely and are preparing to campaign on his behalf again soon.
— On the other hand, the legal one-year deadline of Belarussian filmmaker ANDREI GNYOT's initial detention in Serbia expired recently. With the support of the international film industry, he has fled to relative safety in an EU state to avoid the Serbian prosecution appealing for a renewed arrest and, eventually, extradition to Belarus, where a much worse fate is awaiting him. We continue our urgent plea towards the Serbian and Belarussian governments to drop all charges against Andrei Gnyot immediately.
SAVE THE DATE: IFFR
During this year's edition of one of our founders' festivals, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) — from 30 Jan through 9 Feb in Rotterdam, NL — the ICFR will be co-hosting a public panel talk about filmmaking in climates of censorship and oppression. Some of the filmmakers we have campaigned for, and continue to campaign for, will be at hand to share their stories and their views on how to maximize your safety while avoiding self-censorship as much as you can in the process. Bring your questions, and watch their films on the big screen at the festival.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 3 — 11:00-12:30
— VAN CAPELLENZAAL, DE DOELEN, ROTTERDAM
www.iffr.com
Partnerships & affiliations
In order to effectively coordinate the response to filmmakers in need, our strategic partners — professional film networks, publicity agencies, affiliated NGOs, International human rights networks or ambassadors — are essential.
- call for new partners, both monetary and in-kind
- affiliations with resources to share (see our Resources page)
- invite us to your festivals
- inform us directly of filmmakers at acute risk around the world
No matter the shape, scope or frequency of your support, we thank you wholeheartedly for your contribution to our mission to protect filmmakers around the world from the harm inflicted on them for the art they make and the stories they tell. As 2025 progresses, please do not waver in your commitment, as the world continues to need our collective efforts more than we could have anticipated.
Warm regards,
The ICFR team
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk
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