Oscar-nominated Iranian director Jafar PanahiIt was just an accidentHe used a rare public appearance at the Berlin Film Festival to denounce what he called an “incredible crime” unfolding in his homeland, where independent filmmakers have launched a parallel campaign to highlight artists killed and detained in a widespread crackdown by the Islamic Republic.
In a discussion on stage with Hollywood ReporterEuropean bureau chief Scott Roxborough said in Berlin on Thursday that the festival wants to retroactively award him the Berlinale’s Golden Bear award, which he won in 2015. taxi [the director, under a travel ban at the time, was unable to attend in person]. He said he refused, wanting to keep attention focused on the violent repression carried out by the Iranian regime against the demonstrators, which led to the deaths of tens of thousands.
“They wanted to give me the Golden Bear that I won taxi“I rejected it because of the situation in Iran,” Panahi said. “An unbelievable crime has happened. Mass murder has happened. People are not even allowed to grieve for their loved ones… The regime forces them to do these actions. People do not want violence. They avoid violence. It is the regime that forces violence on them.”
Panahi has long resisted being labeled a political filmmaker, even as his work and life have been shaped by the state’s response to dissent. He pointed out that the current moment made silence impossible.
He said: “Artists do not want to be politically active alone. It is the systems and governments that force them to participate politically.” “Artists try to avoid political activism, but socially engaged artists cannot stay silent about what is happening in society. That is why so many artists, actors, actresses and stars have stood with the Iranian people and are now facing the consequences. We have many artists in prison – documentary filmmakers too. During previous protests and demonstrations, filmmakers have been arrested. When an artist is silent, he is complicit in violence.”
Panahi It was just an accidentwas written after the director spent seven months in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, and was inspired by the stories of political prisoners he met inside. The film follows a group of former prisoners who kidnap the man they believe is their executioner, and debate whether to kill him or pardon him.
“I didn’t know I wanted to make a film about this,” Panahi said. “But when I left the prison, when the doors opened and I walked out and looked at the huge walls behind me, I thought about those still inside. It became a burden on my shoulders. After weeks and months, it became heavier, and I decided to make a film about them.”
To present this world authentically, he recruited several fellow prisoners, including political activist Mehdi Mahmoudian, to co-write the screenplay. Mahmoudian was recently rearrested for condemning the actions of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and is currently out on bail.
“Mehdi Mahmoudian spent almost a quarter of his life in prison. He had more contact with the people inside than anyone else. He knew the executioners very well – how they thought, what their ideology was. That was a great help to me.”
In December, while on tour with… It was just an accident Outside Iran, Panahi was sentenced in absentia to a year in prison and another travel ban, on charges of “propaganda activities” against the government. He said after the Oscars ceremony – It was just an accident It was nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay, and will return to Iran.
“Half of my existence is in Iran – my family, my mother, my sister, my brother, my son, my friends and the community I work for. If I don’t come back, I will betray what I believe in. As a socially engaged filmmaker, it is my duty to stand with the people I belong to. A doctor can save lives anywhere. But my cinema is there. I have to go back and make films there. This is the right thing to do. I will come back 100 percent, because of my identity and because of my country.” Beliefs.”
His remarks in Berlin coincided with coordinated efforts by the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Association (IIFMA) to draw attention to artists killed and arrested in the latest wave of repression. The association, founded in 2023 in the wake of the Women’s Lives Matter movement, returned to the Berlinale with a platform, a symposium and a mass gathering in Potsdamer Platz.
At a panel in Berlin, IIFMA board member Mehshid Zamani presented footage collected from social media and material sent directly from Iran documenting the crackdown on January 8 and 9.
“Each frame embodies the courage, hope and longing that define the Iranian spirit while also highlighting the brutal realities imposed by an oppressive, fanatical and Islamist terrorist regime,” he said. “Dozens of artists were killed while courageously defending their beliefs in the January 8 and 9 uprising.”
Zamani then read aloud the names of musicians, directors, actors and other arts workers confirmed dead or arrested, and asked the audience to applaud each one of them. Later, IIFMA members organized a flash mob to re-enact rows of body bags in Berlin’s festival district in remembrance.
According to IIFMA, the following arts and culture professionals were killed:
Ahmed Abbasi – film director
Shukufa Abdi – Photographer
Malika Dastyab – musician
Boya Fragardi – musician
Shabnam Ferdowsi – Puppeteer, graphic designer
Jawad Ganji – Film director
Sorina Jalgun – in music
Yasser Rosta Manager – Musician
Sanam Bourbabai – musician
Sahba Rashtian – illustrator and animator
Fouad Safai – musician
Mehdi Salahshour – sculptor
Zahra Shamayzadeh – script supervisor and voice actress
Muhammad “Shaho” Al-Shirazi – singer
Mustafa Rabiti – film director
Rehana Yousfi – actress
Amir Ali Zarei – musician, arts student
The following were arrested:
Daoud Abbasi – director and cinematographer
Ghazala Wakili – actor
Navid Zarhebin – film director
Kimia Mousavi – artist
