In a verdict issued this week, Iran’s Revolutionary Court convicted directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha of charges like ‘propaganda against the Islamic Republic’, ‘producing obscene content’ and ‘screening without permission’. Its specific breaches included not observing hijab-wearing requirements for its lead actress, Lili Farhadpour, and participating in foreign festivals without approval, including the Berlinale.

The duo directed Berlinale 2024 Competition entry My Favourite Cake. The film’s producer, Gholamreza Mousavi, has also been convicted.

The Revolutionary Court sentenced the directors to 14 months in prison, suspended for five years, and a fine. It also sentenced them to one year in prison, suspended for five years, for "producing obscene content." The court also ordered the confiscation of all equipment used by the film crew. 

Moghaddam and Sanaeeha have been ordered to pay a fine of 400m Iranian Rials ($9,498) to the state treasury, with separate fines of 200m IRR ($4,749) each for the three defendants for the screening charges.

Other crew members, including cinematographer Mohamad Hadadi and several actors, have also received fines.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights (CHRI) criticized the ruling, saying: "Iranian artists are facing increasing censorship, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and criticism through art."

Directors Moghadam and Sanaeeha were unable to promote the film in person before their conviction because they were banned from leaving Iran to attend the Berlin Film Festival and subsequent screenings in Europe.

My Favourite Cake follows a 70-year-old single woman who chooses to revive her love life following a chance encounter with a man in a café. The film received a production permit from the Iranian government to shoot in Tehran in autumn 2022.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) earlier this year, Maryam Moghadam said: "Our film tells the story of a life where singing, dancing, or not wearing a headscarf at home, things that are commonly done in private, are prohibited. We wanted to reflect that reality."