Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panahi, an award-winning Iranian filmmaker known for socially engaged cinema, discusses his Oscar-nominated It Was Just an Accident and a 20-year ban from filmmaking. He recounts censorship, imprisonment, and why he keeps returning to Iran. The conversation highlights filmmaking as witness work, characters confronting authoritarianism, and turning trauma into art.

Jafar Panahi, an Iranian film director and screenwriter who makes daring films under strict bans, talks about his Oscar‑nominated It Was Just an Accident. He discusses making films in secret, the risks of returning to Iran amid arrests, and why he feels compelled to keep creating despite danger. Short, tense, and defiant.

In this engaging conversation, Jafar Panahi, an Iranian filmmaker acclaimed for his socially engaged films, shares his bold experiences of navigating censorship and imprisonment. He discusses shooting his Oscar-nominated film ‘It Was Just an Accident’ in secret and the creative methods used to evade government restrictions. Panahi reflects on the impact of his lived experiences on his storytelling, the struggles of Iranian filmmakers, and the importance of portraying complex characters, particularly women, in today's sociopolitical landscape.

Jafar Panahi, Palme d’Or–winning Iranian filmmaker known for clandestine, socially engaged cinema. He talks about self-financing and tight trusted crews. He explains shooting in secret under censorship, representing women without headscarves, and why he chose to return to Iran despite legal danger.

In a captivating discussion, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi shares insights from his career marked by resilience against censorship. He reveals how his 2022 imprisonment inspired his latest film, infusing it with the experiences of fellow inmates. Panahi delves into his creative process, using debates among prisoners to shape dialogue and characters. He also reflects on his techniques for shooting clandestinely, directing nonprofessionals, and the film's intricate sound design rooted in interrogation memories, all while hoping to inspire future change.