“My heartfelt wish is that artists no longer be imprisoned in this country because of their art and that the independent and young Iranian cinema no longer faces obstacles, lack of support, attention and prejudice.”

Abbas Kiarostami, perhaps the most famous of Iranian directors working today, has published an open letter in a Tehran newspaper calling for the release of Jafar Panahi (and also Mahmoud Rasoulof) – two filmmakers incarcerated in the last couple of weeks. Kiarostami is known for his difficult and artistic films, and he is famous round the world (Tarantino is a huge fan – but then, most directors are). In this open letter, he calls out the powers-that-be to let these two artists go – but he also gives a fascinating perspective on how Iranian cinema works (ie: the insiders and the outsiders). Kiarostami has made peace with the fact that he will always be an outsider. His films have been banned in Iran for years. He makes films about things like suicide (Taste of Cherry) – a taboo topic – and that film also intimates that the lead character is gay, and that may be the cause of his yearning for death. (My review here.) According to Kiarostami, Panahi was different – he was trying to work WITHIN the system. This is a heartbreaking situation if you look at in terms of nationalism and HOME. Both of these filmmakers do their country proud. They have helped create a national cinema that is admired the world over. Anyone who watches a film from Iran (even the more schlocky ones) can sense the energy and drive that is in their movie industry – and it is mainly because of filmmakers like Kiarostami and Panahi, the pioneers.

There are those who say, in what I think of as a cavalier manner, “Well, just leave Iran – go make movies elsewhere.” People who say such things have no sense of what it means to have a home, or they haven’t really thought it through. Perhaps they are biased against Iran, and so think: “Jesus, I wouldn’t want to live there – get the hell out.” This is a cold-hearted and (in my view) moronic way to think. These people are artists and their country, their HOME, rejects them. How easy would it be for YOU to just get up and leave everything you’ve ever known, the place you’ve grown up in, where your family is, support system – even your HEART … So many of these people are not interested in making blockbuster stupid action flicks in Hollywood. They want to make movies about what concerns THEM, and that is … Iran and its people. If they cut themselves off from that wellspring, then where would they create from? What would be replaced? These are LOCAL artists, with an international reputation. They want to make films from their own country. They should be allowed to do so.

Read Kiarostami’s full letter (in translation) here.