It’s his birthday today.
Jafar Panahi should need no introduction, but just in case…
Jafar Panahi is an Iranian director with an international reputation, and a daunting list of films, many of which were made under terrible conditions (The White Balloon, The Mirror, The Circle, Offside, Crimson Gold, This Is Not a Film, Taxi, Closed Curtain). Harassed and persecuted for years (Panahi’s films were openly critical of the regime, in particular its barbaric treatment of women), Panahi was finally arrested and imprisoned. Tortured. He went on hunger strike. The situation made international news in 2009/10/11. Released from prison, Panahi was placed on house arrest until the verdict. When the verdict finally came in, it was devastating: 6 years in prison, as well as a 20-year ban on making films. No travel, no interviews. Panahi is in his 50s. This is a lifetime ban.
HOWEVER:
More after the jump.
Despite the ban, and despite the fact that those who work with him (cinematographers, co-directors, actors) were also arrested, had their passports revoked, their lives literally in danger, Panahi has continued to make films “in secret”, and then smuggling them out of the country, where his films had rarely gotten screened anyway, even before the ban. The first film post-ban, with the wink-wink title With This Is Not a Film was made while he was under house-arrest awaiting the verdict. Filmed entirely inside his apartment. Once completed, he put the film – excuse me, “not a film” – on a zip drive, buried it inside a cake, and shipped the cake off. The zip drive was dug out of the cake just in time to premiere this film that was not a film at the Cannes Film Festival. This really happened.
But before all that, during the first furor of reaction to the news of his arrest: On February 11, 2011, at the opening ceremony of the Berlinale film festival – where Jafar Panahi was supposed to have been on the jury – Isabella Rosselini, president of the jury, read to the audience – in the theatre, and worldwide – an open letter from Panahi, also somehow smuggled out of Iran. Beside her was an empty chair, a chair reserved for Panahi.
I was beside myself during this period. I was absolutely heartbroken. I couldn’t DO anything for this man, but I figured, well, let me put together an Iranian Film Blog-a-Thon. Which I did. I hosted the blog-a-thon a couple of weeks later and the response was overwhelming!
Just a couple of months later came word that Panahi had smuggled a film out of Iran to premiere at Cannes. Wait a minute: WHAT? I was geared myself up for silence from him – one of my favorite filmmakers – for the rest of my life. But … oh my God, he was disobeying the ban. Immediately. It seemed unbelievable. And the FILM. This Is Not a Film! Even the TITLE was revolutionary. You won’t let me make films? Fine. This is not a film. (All of the credits at the end are listed as blanks, evidence of the dangerous nature of the whole project.)
I have written so much about Panahi, and reviewed most his films. I haven’t written about his two earliest films, the wonderful The Mirror was the first film to bring attention outside of Iran, and the equally wonderful White Balloon. I also haven’t written about his latest films because … despite the ban … he has continued to make films. “Nothing can prevent me from making films,” he said. I wonder if the authorities are too afraid to do anything, due to Panahi’s international reputation and the FUROR of response to his arrest/hunger strike/the ban. Were they not expecting it? Or did they not care? Either way, he has continued to make films – with some changes in approach (his films now take place mostly inside, whereas before he was practically a street photographer). So here are some of the things I’ve written about him:
The Circle (2001)
The Circle was banned in Iran. Most of Panahi’s films have been banned (but thanks to the Internet and bootlegs, everyone in Iran has seen them, albeit illegally). In The Circle – a circular story, with multiple strands, stories that barely intersect at first – is about the disgraceful treatment of women in Iran. They are hounded, chased, beaten, devalued, and dominated by men. Forced into prostitution. On the run from abusive husbands but nowhere to go, they can’t check into a hotel by themselves. The entire structure of the society designed to imprison them. It’s a ruthless film. Here’s my review of The Circle.
Crimson Gold (2004)
2004’s Crimson Gold was written by Panahi’s mentor and internationally known filmmaker, the late Abbas Kiarostami. It’s a fascinating look at the brutality of the class hierarchy in Iran. An explosive topic. Panahi does not mince words. Here’s my review of Crimson Gold.
Offside (2007)
My favorite Panahi, and the one I would suggest you start with, if you are unfamiliar with his work. It’s what you would call a crowd-pleaser, with – yet again – a critique of Iran’s treatment of women embedded in it. Women were not allowed to attend public sporting events. (That has now changed.) In Offside, 6 separate girls dress up as boys so they can go to the soccer game, a qualifying match for the World Cup. Filmed during that actual game, these girls are all busted, and kept held in a pen behind the stadium. It’s comedic, it’s feisty, it’s angry as hell. No subtext. All text. Great great film. I wrote about it here.
Then came a long gap. Iran exploded into violence with a controversial election, student protests – broadcast around the world from Iranians uploading their videos onto Youtube – and the country backsliding into tyranny after a period of hope. Panahi was heavily involved in the “green movement” and was planning a film about it. The regime had finally had enough with this guy who kept criticizing them, raided his apartment, arrested a bunch of people, shut down production. Filming had not yet begun, if I’m not mistaken.
Then began Panahi’s very public trials. The ban came down in 2011. On the heels of the ban came This Is Not a Film.
This Is Not a Film (2011)
There is not another film like this in the history of film. I wrote about it twice for Capital New York: I reviewed it when it played at the NYFF, and I included it on my list of Great Films of 2011.
Closed Curtain (2014)
And then, and THEN, three years later came ANOTHER film. Panahi’s films all took place out in the world, in the jostle and chaos of the streets of Tehran. After the ban, they were all inside. His apartment. His summer house. It was tragic, but at the same time … acts of great courage. If you’re an artist, you’re an artist. You do what you have to do. I found a weird savage hope in This Is Not a Film but Closed Curtain practically broke me. I mean, the title alone. I felt wild despair in this movie. It’s amazing. It should be seen. I wrote about it here.
Taxi (2015)
The following year came Taxi. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.
In preparation for Taxi‘s release, Panahi (no longer under house arrest, but still not allowed to leave Iran) issued a statement:
“Nothing can prevent me from making films since when being pushed to the ultimate corners I connect with my inner-self and in such private spaces, despite all limitations, the necessity to create becomes even more an urge…Cinema as an Art becomes my main preoccupation. That is the reason why I have to continue making films under any circumstances to pay my respect and feel alive.”
The proverbial “they” literally cannot stop him. I still live in fear that Panahi will one day vanish. Be “disappeared”. In Taxi, he drives a taxi, picking people up throughout the day, having conversations, some amusing, some serious. The camera never leaves the taxi. The ending is a sucker-punch. I wrote about the film here.
Last year, as Iran erupted into protests (that continue to this day), a friend of Panahi was arrested and he took a huge risk and went to the prison to join the protest of his arrest. He was arrested and thrown in Evin prison where the situation was rapidly deteriorating. Evin is bad bad news. There wasn’t word of him for months. We heard there was a COVID outbreak in the prison. We heard his physical condition was terrible. Neighbors near the prison heard gunfire within the prison walls. The other times he was imprisoned he was at least able to get word out to the world. Not this time. It was agonizing. (Many film-making colleagues – many artists – were caught in these roundups, arrested for being seen at protests.) Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the biggest stars in Iran, was arrested. People around the world protested these arrests. Taraneh was released after two hair-raising weeks. She looked horrific (understandably) – grey and drawn and thin – who knows what she endured in that horrible place – but she was out. No word from Panahi. Until one day, his wife posted a picture of him. He was sitting in a car with her, smiling. Proof. He was alive. He was OUT. A month or so later, he left the country for a trip with his wife – his first time leaving the country in 14 years.
Don’t ever let those cynics who accuse you of “virtue signaling” silence you when you dare to speak out against something (particularly if the target is a group you are not “part” of). Fuck that. Being LOUD about these things matters and often has an impact. Regimes like the Iranian one RESENT that the world loves Jafar Panahi and Taraneh Alidoosti. They COUNT on our silence so they can proceed with their dirty deeds. I am not loud about everything – and I could obviously do better blah dee blah – but I have always been loud about THIS. The Iranian regime is very very touchy and insecure, and sensitive to what the world thinks of them, even though they act like they don’t care.
The situation in Iran is still very unstable. The regime has got to go. The fact that they actually released Panahi speaks volumes about the uncertainty and probably panic behind closed doors. They keep hoping the world will stop caring about what happens to Panahi.
Sorry, assholes. We’ve been protesting your treatment of him – and the entire artistic community in Iran – for 15, 20 years. We will never shut up. Never.
Panahi was arrested either on or shortly after his birthday last year. So this year is a triumph. Count the triumphs when they come. And hunker down for the next wave.
He is one of my heroes.
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