Directors of the Film 'My Favorite Cake' Banned from Leaving the Country Again

Maryam Maqdami, one of the two directors of the film 'My Favorite Cake', announced on her Instagram account that her passport and that of Behtash Snaeiha, her husband and the other director of the film, have once again been confiscated at the airport before they could leave the country. On Wednesday, September 21, she shared a photo of the receipt for her passport returned to the immigration police and stated that despite having purchased tickets and paid for their exit, they were prevented from leaving. She explained in the caption: 'Yesterday, while I wanted to go see my family in Sweden after a long time and perhaps be present at the screening of our film, my passport was confiscated again at the airport, and they said that Behtash and I have been banned from leaving again.' Behtash Snaeiha and Maryam Maqdami had announced on September 16 that their exit ban had been lifted, stating: 'We were informed by the Tehran Prosecutor's Office that a letter lifting our exit ban had been issued.' Now, Maqdami has expressed confusion, saying, 'If they did not want to allow us to leave, why did they return our passports? To torment our souls and cause us harm?' The passports of Maryam Maqdami and Behtash Snaeiha were also confiscated on October 11, 2023, while they intended to travel to France to complete the production of 'My Favorite Cake'. They faced accusations of 'propaganda against the regime and actions against national security' after their exit ban. This film was made without adhering to the censorship rules of the Islamic Republic, including mandatory hijab for female actors. The director of this film emphasized that today is 'National Cinema Day' and addressed the Iranian President, saying: 'Mr. Pezeshkian, it is clear to any intelligent Iranian that your companions are not the companions of this nation. Your principlist allies at least do not claim to be anything other than what they are and are not inclined to pretend to be better. You are not only not leading society towards growth and reform, but you are drowning it in a swamp of lies.' Thirty international film festivals and organizations reacted to the accusations against these two directors by issuing an open letter calling for the Islamic Republic to lift the charges and the exit ban against them. The signatories of this letter recalled the international successes of Behtash Snaeiha and Maryam Maqdami with the film 'The White Cow's Elegy' and stated that this couple has been accused in Iran of 'propaganda against the regime and actions against national security'. 'My Favorite Cake', directed by Maryam Maqdami and Behtash Snaeiha, is a co-production of Iran, France, Sweden, and Germany. This film received the Best Film award from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) at the Berlin Film Festival in March 2024 and has recently begun screening in Sweden and the UK. The production and screening process of 'My Favorite Cake' had previously faced protests from officials of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Earlier, the Director General of Supervision and Evaluation of the Cinema Organization had stated in a television program in June this year: 'Despite the trust we had in the producer of this film, the work was done without adhering to production regulations.' Meanwhile, in the two years following the protests of 2022, dozens of short and feature films have been made underground in Iran and screened at international festivals.