Oscar-nominated Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, renowned for his fearless storytelling and Cannes-winning work, is defying a one-year prison sentence and travel ban by planning to return home. His latest film, It Was Just an Accident, a provocative exploration of the aftermath of Iran’s 2022 anti-government protests, underscores Panahi’s commitment to cinema as both art and social witness, even under the country’s strict censorship.
Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has said he plans to return to Iran despite being sentenced to a year in prison and a travel ban earlier this week, a report said Thursday.
The 65-year-old is currently touring to promote his latest Oscar-nominated film, It Was Just an Accident, which won top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
"Although I was given the opportunity, even in the hardest years, I never considered leaving my country and being a refugee elsewhere," Panahi told an audience at the Marrakech Film Festival, according to Variety magazine.
"One's country is the best place to live, no matter what problems, what difficulties," he added.
Confirming that he planned to travel home, he said he had "only one passport."
Panahi has been jailed twice before and has a history of defying Iran's strict censorship rules.
It Was Just an Accident is a wry and provocative challenge to the country's theocratic rulers and their handling of the 2022 anti-government "Women, Life, Freedom" protests.
Its plot, about a group of Iranians confronted with a man they believe tortured them in jail, was inspired by conversations Panahi had with fellow detainees while in prison himself from 2022 to 2023.
Panahi's lawyer, Mostafa Nili, told AFP on Monday that the filmmaker had been condemned for "propaganda activities" against the state, without elaborating.
The film has been selected by France as its official nomination for the Academy Awards and is widely expected to make the shortlist for the Best International Feature at the gala event in March.
In Cannes, Panahi insisted that he did not intend to follow in the footsteps of other independent Iranian filmmakers, such as Mohammad Rasoulof, who have fled the country to escape prison sentences.
"They (the Iranian government) have always stopped us from making films, but we found a way," he told AFP.
"It's typical of regimes like this; they don't let artists work, and they don't let anyone do what they love."
Fellow Iranian directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha were given suspended sentences earlier this year for their acclaimed romantic drama My Favorite Cake, which competed at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.
They were convicted of "spreading lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion."
With AFP
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