Iran has sentenced a prominent filmmaker to six years in jail and banned him from shooting films or scriptwriting for 20 years. Jafar Panahi is a celebrated filmmaker who has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin film festivals for his films The Circle and Offside. Panahi was jailed after being accused of gathering and carrying out propaganda against the system. Last year he publicly supported the opposition in Iran’s disputed presidential election. In addition, another young Iranian director, Mohammad Rasoulof, has also been sentenced to six years in jail on similar charges.