Tehran: Filmmakers of “My Favorite Cake” sentenced to prison

Hengaw: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam, the filmmaker couple behind the movie My Favorite Cake, along with the film’s producer, Gholamreza Mousavi, have been collectively sentenced to five years and four months in prison and fined.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced Sanaeeha, Moghaddam, and Mousavi each to one year of discretionary imprisonment and the confiscation of their filmmaking equipment, on charges of “participating in the production of obscene content.” These prison terms have been suspended for five years.

Additionally, the court sentenced Sanaeeha and Moghaddam each to 14 months in prison and fined them 40 million tomans (approximately $800) for “propaganda against the state” and “disturbing public opinion.” These sentences are also suspended for five years.

My Favorite Cake, a drama film, won the FIPRESCI Prize (International Federation of Film Critics) at last year’s Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival). The film, in which the actors appear without the mandatory hijab, also received the Silver Hugo award at the Chicago International Film Festival.