Who is Mahnaz Mohammadi? Iranian filmmaker who sent lock of hair to Kerala film festival as form of protest

Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi gained spotlight after she sent a lock of her hair to the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). She was invited by the award organisers to receive the Spirit of Cinema award. But Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari had to receive her award on her behalf. She was unable to renew her passport. Reports said that Mohammadi has been a trenchant critic of the Iranian government during the ongoing anti-hijab protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. Amini was a 22-year-old woman who was allegedly a victim of police brutality after she was arrested by Iranian religious morality police called Guidance Patrol for wearing an 'improper' hijab.

The protests kicked off on September 16, 2022 when Taraneh died in a hospital in the country's capital Tehran. While the authorities claimed that she died due to a coma induced by a heart attack, eyewitnesses, which included women who were detained with her, said she was beaten by the law enforcement personnel.

Mohammadi told the BBC in an email interview, "Cut hair is the symbol of the tragedy that we face every day and every moment." She added that the rapturous response to the display of her lock of hair when Tsangari held it aloft made her cry.

The award was introduced to honour filmmakers "whose passion for cinema is unflinchingly carried forward in spite of the adversaries faced by them."

Amini's death instigated a wave of protests by Iranian women on a scale not seen since at least 2009. Many women publicly removed their hijab and cut their hair. In the resulting crackdown, more than 300 demonstrators have been killed as per the non-profit Iran Human Rights.

Controversies are not new to Mohammadi. In 2007, she was arrested along with 32 other activists who were protesting the trial of five fellow activists in front of a court in Tehran. She was arrested again in 2009 and on 2011.

At the 64th Cannes Film Festival, held in 2022, she said, "I am a woman and a filmmaker, two reasons sufficient to be treated like a criminal in this country"