Jafar Panahi remains sentenced to prison in Iran
The filmmaker risks a year in prison for “propaganda against the Iranian state”.
A year after winning the Palme d’Or for A Simple AccidentIranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi sees his legal situation becoming complicated.
Tehran’s Revolutionary Court rejected the director’s appeal and upheld his one-year prison sentence for “propaganda against the Iranian state.” This sentence was handed down last December in his absence.
His lawyer, however, clarified that this decision could still be challenged before a higher court within twenty days. As a result, Panahi does not face immediate incarceration.
A major figure in contemporary Iranian cinema, the director has maintained particularly tense relations with the authorities of his country for several years. In 2022, he had already been arrested as part of a movement in support of several protest filmmakers before being released seven months later.
Banned from leaving the country for a time, Jafar Panahi finally regained his freedom of movement in 2023. He was notably able to go to the Cannes Film Festival to present A Simple Accidenta film largely inspired by his own prison experience and centered on former prisoners confronted by their former tormentor.
The director also returned to Iran at the end of March after supporting the international campaign for the film, which represented France in the race for the Oscar for best international film.
