Cannes winner Jafar Panahi addressed his recent Iran prison sentence while speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival in Morocco, saying he plans to return to his country as soon as he finishes his Oscar campaign for “It Was Just an Accident.”
“I have only one passport,” Panahi said in Persian, sitting next to an English translator. “This is the passport of my country, and I wish to keep it.”
On Monday, Panahi, whose films have repeatedly landed him in trouble with the Islamic Republic, was sentenced in absentia to one year in prison in Iran, on charges related to “propaganda activities” against the state. Panahi’s attorney, Mostafa Nili, said the sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership of any political or social groups. He added that they would file an appeal.
“Although I was given the opportunity, even in the hardest years, I never considered leaving my country and being a refugee elsewhere,” said Panahi, who still lives in Iran but splits his time in France, which has selected “It Was Just an Accident” as its Oscar entry.
“One’s country is the best place to live, no matter what problems, what difficulties,” Panahi added. “My country is where I can breathe, where I can find the reason to live and where I can find the strength to create. The problems that Iran is facing these days are temporary problems, just like the problems that any society has faced.”
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In 2010, Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison plus a 20-year ban on making films, giving interviews or traveling abroad (with very limited exceptions). He ended up serving a couple of months behind bars before being released on bail. And despite the ban, Panahi continued making movies, filming them in Iran in secret and smuggling them outside of the country.
Panahi was arrested again in 2022 and spent seven months in prison before embarking on a hunger strike. He was released 48 hours after declaring, “I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release. I will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison.”
Despite the Iranian government’s attempts to censor Panahi and keep him behind bars, the filmmaker plans to return to his home country imminently.
“I’ve been working night and day on this Oscar campaign for over three months now,” he said. “This sentence happened in the middle of this process, but I will finish this campaign and go back to Iran as soon as possible after.”
His latest film, “It Was Just an Accident,” follows a group of former Iranian political prisoners who face a moral dilemma while holding hostage a man who they believe is their tormentor. Panahi said the story was inspired by his experience as a political prisoner, being detained and interrogated by anonymous authorities.
Wrapping up his masterclass in Marrakech, Panahi offered some words of wisdom for the aspiring filmmakers in the audience.
“I was told that there are many film students here. There is something you should be clear about,” he said. “There are only two types of filmmakers: Those who run after the audience, who are extremely sensitive to the needs, the taste, the expectations of the audience, to attract audiences to their film. This is 95% of the filmmakers in the world. And there are 5% who think, ‘I don’t care about the audience’s taste. I make my own film, I wonder what I want to say, and then the audience must come and find me.’ You can be from one group or the other, because [we have to make a living]. But try to be the best, no matter what category you find yourself in.”
He added, “If you have decided to be part of the 5% and only make what you think is right, then you can submit to no power. In that case, you know that there is a price to pay. This price can be economical if you are in a Western country, or it can be political in a country like mine. But I’m aware of it. I have made this choice. I know my films don’t please the government. But that’s not a reason not for me to go back to my country. I will go back.”
Panahi received a standing ovation from the crowd. “It Was Just an Accident” screens at the Marrakech Film Festival on Thursday.
From Variety US