In December 2010, Iranian film director Jafar Panahi was given a six-year prison sentence for making an anti-government film without permission (like they'd actually give him permission if he asked) and inciting opposition protests after the widely-criticized 2009 presidential election. Furthermore, Panahi has also been forbidden to write scripts, speak with the media, express his political views, or travel outside the country for twenty years.
Panahi's most recent film, Offisde, is about a group of girls who try to find a way to watch a World Cup soccer match despite being forbidden by law to watch it. I've seen the movie and I like it. I've also seen The Circle, another one of his films that criticizes the mistreatment of women in Iran. In fact, I like both films better than the works of Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash), who is one of the two people who signed the Amnesty International email message I received today about Panahi's sentence (the other person is actress and Amnesty International spokesperson Nazanin Boniadi). Nonetheless, I give Haggis props for supporting this cause.
Incidentally, the email message mentions several Hollywood insiders who support Panahi, and the Amnesty International website drops even more names. I'm ambivalent about the heavy use of Hollywood namedropping (I wouldn't look to Harvey Weinstein for moral guidance, for example), although I am pleased to see that Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X both support Panahi (Patrick Stewart is one of his supporters). In any case, I personally support this cause and recommend that people go to the Amnesty International website to send a message on Panahi's behalf.
By the way, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof was also sentenced to six years in prison and he is also mentioned in the sample letter provided by Amnesty International.