- Seven killed as Indian passenger and goods trains collide
- US reporter Gershkovich to go on trial in Russia on June 26
- Bangladesh into Super Eights with win over Nepal
- Nuclear arms spending soars as global tensions swell: studies
- Sri Lanka deliver big win over Dutch as they bow out of T20 World Cup
- 'Outsiders,' 'Stereophonic' top Tony Awards
- Weghorst reprises super sub role to offer Dutch plan B at Euros
- Portugal's record collector Ronaldo 'thinking big' at Euro 2024
- Philippine, Chinese ships collide near hotspot reef: Beijing
- Asian stocks struggle after tepid Wall St lead, euro dips further
- Once fruitful, Libyan village suffers climate crisis
- 'Meaty rice'? South Korean professor aims to change global protein
- Sri Lanka make 201-6 against Netherlands in T20 World Cup
- 'Shot of my life' helps lift DeChambeau to second US Open title
- Philippine ship, Chinese vessel collide in South China Sea: Beijing
- France begins frenetic campaign after Macron poll gamble
- Wu makes Australian diving history with fifth Olympics
- Illegal gold mining eats into Peruvian Amazon
- Shareholders OK with soaring executive pay in US
- On thin ice: Greenland's last Inuit polar bear hunters
- McIlroy silence speaks volumes after US Open collapse
- Walsh follows up 100m fly world record with Olympic berth
- McIlroy departs Pinehurst without talking to media after US Open collapse
- Team 'Melodi' woos India as Meloni-Modi video goes viral
- DeChambeau outlasts McIlroy to win second US Open crown
- DeChambeau edges McIlroy by one stroke to win US Open
- In hostile Boston, Mavs' Irving aims to keep focus on NBA Finals challenge
- Southgate says England will benefit from Serbia suffering
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- Nuclear arms more prominent amid geopolitical tensions: researchers
- Lucu boots Bordeaux-Begles into Top 14 semis
- England begin Euro 2024 quest with win over Serbia, Dutch edge Poland
- Bellingham sparkles as England star takes centre stage at Euros
- Bellingham gets unconvincing England off to winning Euros start
- Water crisis batters war-torn Sudan as temperatures soar
- 'Best manager' Ten Hag reveals Tuchel was approached for his United job
- DeChambeau and McIlroy share US Open lead as drama builds
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- Love double as Boulter and De Minaur win tennis titles on same day
- Denmark's Eriksen glad for 'very different' Euros experience
- Eriksen scores on emotional Euros return as Denmark held by Slovenia
- Rangnick optimistic as he leads Austria into Euros in home country
- French Open champion Alcaraz eager to take clay form into grass season
- Babar delivers captain's knock as Pakistan bow out with win over Ireland
- US Open leader DeChambeau tees off in last round at Pinehurst
- Belgium coach Tedesco 'sure' De Bruyne ready for Euros
- Eriksen scores on emotional Euro return as Denmark held by Slovenia
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Rasoulof: how I learned to beat Iran's secret police
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who escaped Iran to premiere his new film at the Cannes Film Festival Friday, told AFP it takes 20 years of training to learn to make a good clandestine film.
Rasoulof, 51, filmed "The Seeds of the Sacred Fig", competing for the festival's top Palme d'Or prize, in secret in Iran as he had already been imprisoned twice for his uncompromising political work.
Facing another eight-year prison sentence, he fled Iran on the eve of the festival and received a long standing ovation and rave reviews when he appeared in Cannes on Friday.
He spoke to AFP about his ordeal.
Question: How do you film clandestinely in Iran?
Answer: It takes 20 years of training to learn that. Otherwise anyone could make a good clandestine film!
The more you spend time with interrogators, the secret police, the more you learn how to thwart them.
They show you your emails, so you learn how to write them. They show you your bank statements, so you learn when you should not have used your credit card. Each time, by hanging out with them, you learn how they found you, and how to make sure they don't find you next time.
I admit that it has a bit of a gangster side, my business. But prison is a good place to learn these things.
Question: You held up photos of two of your actors in Cannes...
Answer: The entire team remaining in Iran is threatened, worried, whether it is my cinematographer, my set designer, costume designer, makeup, everyone.
Everyone who worked in this team and for this film is currently the target of this intimidation. I chose these two actors as the symbols of this team because I only have two hands.
Question: What can protect those who remain in Iran?
Answer: We need to exert political pressure on the Iranian regime so that it stops the repression and censorship against artists.
Simply, the fact of describing their situation, of saying what pressures they are going through, it's a good start.
It's perhaps a bit idealistic to think that this political pressure will come, but I'm convinced that it's the only way to achieve change.
Question: You said you hope the dictatorship will disappear. What is your hope?
Answer: About two years ago, when the campaign for women's liberation started, no one thought that after the death of Mahsa Amini (the woman whose death triggered the 2022 protests), people would demonstrate like they did.
The people of Iran are very angry, but they are waiting for an opportunity to show it.
Question: What impact will the death of President Ebrahim Raisi this week have?
Answer: There is always hope, but it is difficult to predict political events. I cannot. All I hope is that this change will come and that the Iranian people can breathe.
Question: What are your prospects now that you have left Iran?
Answer: I have no immediate plans to return to Iran, and I'm going to work, I'm going to make films, I'm going to get started on another project very quickly. Maybe a stop-motion animation project, or something else.
It's certain that I will very quickly draw inspiration again from my experience in prison.
A.Gasser--BTB