TEHRAN

Masud Kimiai and Puran Derakhshandeh said Panahi deserved a "revision" of his court sentence as he had earned several awards for Iran, the ILNA news agency reported.

"I am 70 years old, of which 52 years have been spent in Iranian cinema... I humbly ask the judiciary to revise Jafar Panahi's sentence as he is my friend," Kimiai said at Friday's opening ceremony of the annual Fajr film festival in Tehran.

An Iranian court has sentenced Panahi to a six-year jail term and a 20-year ban on filmmaking and travelling for allegedly siding with the opposition movement which contested the official results of a June 2009 presidential election.

Veteran woman film director Derakhshandeh echoed Kimiai's plea.

"This year Panahi's seat is empty among the filmmakers," she said.

"He has won many awards for Iranian cinema. I am asking the judiciary to revise his sentence," she said at the ceremony, which was attended by Iran's Minister for Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini.

Kimiai is a well-known filmmaker at home and had won an award in 1991 Berlin Film Festival for Dandan-e Mar (Snake Fang). His movies are known to depict ethics and values prevalent in Iranian society.

Derakhshandeh is a well regarded director, screenwriter and film researcher.

Several other Iranian and foreign film personalities have also called for Panahi's release and a top aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the government too was against his sentence.

Internationally acclaimed director Asghar Farhadi was banned from filming his movie "Nader divorces Simin" in September because of his alleged support for Panahi.

The head of this month's Berlin film festival, Dieter Kosslick, too has said he hoped Panahi would be able to join the event's jury.

Panahi, widely known for award-winning films such as "The Circle", "Crimson Gold" and "Offside", was convicted of "propaganda against the system" for making a film about the unrest after the 2009 election.

His lawyer Farideh Gheirat told AFP on February 1 that the director was still out on bail but barred from travelling abroad, making or writing films or giving interviews to foreign media.

"We have appealed and we are waiting to hear when and where his appeal will be heard," she said.

Filmmakers, writers and artists have complained of increased censorship under Ahmadinejad's presidency.