As filmmakers we take it for granted that the worst consequences we face in our career is losing money in a film. Outside of the US, filmmakers risk more than money, they risk their freedom and their lives making films their government or society does not approve.
This past December, Jafar Panahi, along with fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Tehran Revolutionary Court after his conviction on charges of "colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country's national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic." His primary offense? Planning a fiction film about the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad retained the chief executive's office.
This led to a film, In Film Nist (This Is Not a Film), a collaboration with his cameraman, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, which was shot in March around Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and premiered this week at the Cannes Film Festival.
No comments:
Post a Comment