ICFR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER — #2-2024

Summer's No Respite for Those In Urgent Need

A mid-2024 update on ICFR's activities
cases — fund — partnerships

Dear partners, supporters & friends,

Midway through this summer of tumultuous world developments, bookended by some of the biggest events for our industry, we bring to you this new quarterly newsletter updating you of the cases on ICFR's radar. A major Iranian filmmaker has gone into exile, making headlines during the Festival de Cannes end of May; a Filipino filmmaker has mercifully been released from his unwarranted arrest; a Belarusian film professional is risking Serbia's extradition to his native country; and our colleagues in Turkey and Myanmar are still looking for ways to revert their unscionably disproportionate prison sentences. More on all these situations here below.

Also in this newsletter: changes in ICFR's internal structure, including an expansion of our Executive Board and the anticipated creation of an Advisory Board; the books have been closed on our Emergency Fund for Ukrainian filmmakers; and our continued call for new strategic partners and official affiliates.

Cases

Once again, we ask your urgent attention for some very difficult situations involving our dear colleagues in Turkey, Myanmar, Iran and Belarus.

Starting with the good news: over in the Philippines, filmmaker JADE CASTRO, who had been detained without a warrant in anticipation of a highly compromised trial, has been released and acquitted due to the ongoing efforts of his loved ones and the international film industry. We are relieved for Jade and his loved ones, and are grateful to have been able to play our part in his release.

To our deep disappointment, Turkish producer ÇIĞDEM MATER is still in prison in Turkey, with the second “anniversary” of her unjustifiable 18-year sentence just this past April. We are currently working with our dear affiliates at Altyazi Fasikül on a project they've initiated to support Çiğdem in creative and continuously visible ways; more on this will be shared soon.

In Myanmar, pioneer documentary filmmaker SHIN DAEWE has shockingly been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment, by a closed military tribunal at which she was allowed no legal representation, 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.

Most recently, Belarusian film professional and activist ANDREI GNYOT ended up in the hands of the Serbian authorities, who have been detaining him, unlawfully and against all international conventions, in order to extradite him to his native Belarus — where he is certain to face imprisonment, torture, and even the death penalty for making documentary footage during the Belarus 2020 protests. Andrei's team at activist group SOS BY (Free Association of Athletes) have now started a fundraiser to support him with the mounting legal costs.

In Iran, prosecution efforts and travel bans have still not been lifted for MARYAM MOGHADAM & BEHTASH SANAEEHA, NAVID MIHANDOUST, as well as for ZAHRA SHAFIEE DEHAGHANI, whose detainment led to her having a stroke earlier this spring; fortunately, she's been recovering well from the subsequent brain surgery, and her lawyers are working round the clock to suspend or (ideally) cancel her sentence. We continue to monitor these cases through representatives of each of these colleagues under threat.

With his new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, premiering at Cannes this past May, Iranian filmmaker MOHAMMAD RASOULOF revealed himself to have chosen exile, away from his native country and the oppression and persecution he is facing there. In the statement he released at the time, he expressed his concern for his team back in Iran: "They have been put through lengthy interrogations. The families of some of them were summoned and threatened. Due to their appearance in this movie, court cases were filed against them, and they were banned from leaving the country." The ICFR continues to monitor the situation carefully, and encourages anyone with updated information to get in touch right away.

One of the film professionals whose release and acquittal we were happy to announce in our previous quarterly newsletter wrote to us recently to tell us he's been able to work again. He reminded us of the necessity of our work: "Thank you very much again for your support, contribution and solidarity (...) Filmmakers like Çiğdem Mater are still in prison and many artists and filmmakers are under the judicial grip. I hope that all of them will regain their freedom."

Emergency Fund for Filmmakers

The last of our remaining funds earmarked for Ukrainian film professionals in urgent need have now been allocated. Since the start of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ICFR has gathered gracious donations from institutional and individual donors across our network to support the urgent basic life needs of film professionals in Ukraine. We express our sincere gratitude to all our colleagues and supporters for having given so generously to this fund.

Through the Emergency Fund for Filmmakers (EFF), we have been able to support 658 applicants with micro-grants (ranging between 500 and 1500 euros each). Grants have been used for relocation costs, urgent medical treatments, legal support and other immediate life needs for the applicants and their co-dependents. Best of all: several of the filmmakers we've been able to support have informed us that they're back on track with making their next film a reality, which we, for one, look forward to seeing at film festivals and in movie theatres over the years to come.

This emergency fund shall not return, but we strive to continue to be able to assist in individual cases with micro-grants to cover legal fees. Should you wish to donate to these efforts, we encourage you to get in touch!

Partnerships & affiliations

In order to effectively coordinate the response to filmmakers in need, our strategic partners — professional film networks, publicity agencies, affiliated NGO’s, 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 this year progresses, please do not waver in your commitment, as the world continues to need efforts like ours more than we would have hoped.

Warm regards,
The ICFR team

The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk