Kino Lorber Acquires Bold Iranian Drama ‘Manuscripts Don’t Burn’
After censorship, a jail sentence, and a 20-year prohibition from filmmaking, defiant director Mohammad Rasoulof returned to brave new work with “Manuscripts Don’t Burn,” a charged political thriller that draws on real events surrounding censorship and oppression in Iran. Kino Lorber has announced that it has picked up all US distribution rights to the work, which was a secret project until its arrival on the festival circuit at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Filmed without federal permission (like his last film “Goodbye” in 2012), “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” chronicles the story of Kasra, an Iranian author who confronts brutality and censorship when he tries to leave the country with his secretly-written memoirs. After screening at last year’s Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival, it is now slated for a one-week theatrical premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in June. Later this year, Kino Lorber will release the film on VOD, home media, and the educational market.
