Martin Scorsese and Jafar Panahi shared the stage at the New York Film Festival, where Scorsese appealed to streaming platforms to promote Iranian cinema and Panahi reflected on exile, censorship, and the resilience of Iranian artists.
The event, postponed for a week because of visa delays, coincided with the US premiere of Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident, his Cannes Palme d’Or-winning feature, which was filmed secretly and inspired by his imprisonment, according to the Deadline website.
After winning the prestigious Palme d'Or, Panahi returned to Iran where he is banned from filmmaking. However, the ban has not kept him from doing his job.
The discussion between the two prominent filmmakers quickly turned to the condition of Iranian cinema and the challenges facing its filmmakers.
Scorsese asked about the exodus of major Iranian directors in recent years. Panahi said the loss had been devastating for the nation’s film culture.
“It was really difficult to bear … All the backbones of Iranian filmmaking are out. I really miss all those films that they could have made in Iran and they never did,” he said through a translator.
“I don’t have the courage and I don’t have the ability to leave Iran and stay out of Iran. I have stayed there and I’m going to work there.”
Scorsese urged distributors, festivals, and streamers to step in. “These films would have to be supported,” he said. “Streaming platforms have a lot of room. And they throw things … There’s no reason why, you know, a Criterion, Mubi, and Amazon, all of that, couldn’t show these films.”
Platforms should “curate them a bit” so audiences can find and understand them, he added.
Change and defiance
Panahi recalled being banned from filmmaking for 20 years following his arrest. “When they told me that I could not make films for 20 years, or write, or give interviews, or leave Iran for 20 years, I was in shock,” he said.
“50% of your energy and your strength goes into finding the way to … make a film. And you only have 50% left for creativity and for the work itself.”
Reflecting on the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, Panahi said the movement had permanently altered Iran’s public and artistic life.
“In my opinion, the history of these Islamic Republic is divided into before and after … This had affected everything. Of course it would affect cinema too.”
At this year's Academy Awards, four Iranian directors are competing in the Best International Feature Film category, each representing a different country, with a shortlist of finalists due to be announced on March 2.
Iran submitted Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar after a selection process that excluded films by independent and dissident filmmakers.
Among those left out was the critics’ favorite It Was Just an Accident, secretly filmed by internationally acclaimed director Jafar Panahi, who is banned from filmmaking.
Panahi's drama was in turn submitted to the Oscars by France while fellow dissident filmmaker Alireza Khatami’s The Things You Kill will represent Canada.
Shahram Mokri’s Black Rabbit, White Rabbit has also been selected by Tajikistan.
