Bahare Lellehi, an Iranian film director and member of the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) was secretly buried without the knowledge of her family in Behesht-e Sakineh Cemetery, Karaj, after a suspicious death in prison, the ISFA said in an online statement.
Lellehi had initially been arrested for taking part in the Jin, Jîyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) protests in Iran. The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jîna (Mahsa) Amini in morality police custody in September 2022.
The film director was detained for 10 days in 2022 and was re-arrested in 2023, before disappearing for months, Jin News reported. Family applications to receive information on Lellehi’s whereabouts and health went unanswered.
After the news of Lellehi’s death was revealed, the chairman of ISFA’s board of directors, linked with the Iran Cinema House, asked for clarification from the Iranian authorities.
“While we offer our condolences to the members of the Iranian Cinema House and the Iranian Short Film Association, we demand a transparent investigation of the painful incident,” he said.
The 40-year-old short film and documentary director had been a member of the jury for the ISFA Awards Academy. In recent years, she was involved with Iran Youth Cinema Association and Sure Cinema Academy. Lellehi has directed films including ‘When the curls dance in my dream’, ‘Narration of a dream’ and ‘Echoes in the sound room’.
