Introduction to the work of Jafar Panahi Jafar Panahi was born in 1960 in East Azerbaijan circumstances – Italy in the late 1940s/early 1950s Province of Iran. Azerbaijanis make up a significant when filmmaking facilities were still in recovery minority in Iran (16-20%, possibly much more). As after the war. Panahi argues that he has used a child, Panahi spoke Azeri at home and Farsi every modern technique and technology (budget outside the home. He began storytelling very permitting) in capturing his streetscapes. The fluid young and soon became interested in cinema, tracking shots through ‘real’ streets and crowds in including the films made in the 1970s by the all of his films are the markers for this alongside Institute for the Intellectual Development of astonishing sound design. Children and Young Adults. Through these Panahi eventually learned about the work of Abbas Neo-realism often used non-actors or mixed Kiarostami who would be an important early amateur and professional actors and Panahi tends influence on Panahi’s filmmaking career. Panahi to follow this policy. Most of all, however, the neo- was conscripted into the Iranian Army and acted realist link is in the use of simple narratives as an army cameraman in the Iran-Iraq War. Later involving small incidents that trigger dramatic he went to film school in Tehran and made stories. The ‘simple’ narratives are not necessarily documentaries for Iranian TV. In 1994 he was an simple in structure so Crimson Gold involves a assistant director on one of Karostami’s most flashback and The Circle employs the technique of celebrated films Through the Olive Trees. characters who meet, however casually, and the story follows the ‘new’ character until they too Perhaps not surprisingly, given his background meet someone else who will become the lead for and early involvement with Kiarostami, Panahi’s the next story – this is often referred to as the La first feature films were both focused on young ronde model after the 1950 film by Max Ophüls. girls. The two girls were played by two sisters. In the first, The White Balloon, in 1995, a rather Like the neo-realists, Panahi’s narratives are often insistent young girl wants to buy a goldfish in the set ‘on the street’. This means most of his market (since the fish in the pond in her family’s characters are working-class or middle-class shared courtyard are “too thin”). The second, The characters in trouble. He doesn’t often dwell on Mirror in 1997 turned out to be more ambitious the lives of the wealthy élite (and it is the rarity of when the young actor decided to head for home in this which provides Crimson Gold with one of its the middle of a scene – turning the narrative into a most intriguing sequences. Panahi has also documentary. pointed out that the censorship rules mean that it is impossible to show the home life of characters Panahi’s documentary background is obviously without ‘falsification’. Women can only be shown very important in his choice of narrative and how wearing the headscarf, even indoors – but they he approaches it. Like many filmmakers around wouldn’t do that with their husbands at home. the world,and especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Panahi’s first encounter with Vittorio de Social realism and aesthetics Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (Italy 1948) made a big Jafar Panahi’s films have won prizes at impact on the would-be filmmaker when he first international festivals from the beginning, including saw the film as a teenager. multiple prizes at the three most prestigious festivals, Berlin, Cannes and Venice. His creative It’s astonishing just how many filmmakers cite skills as writer, director and editor are easily Bicycle Thieves (even some who left film school in recognised by his fellow professionals. For the 2000s). In Panahi’s case, the influence is audiences the films are perhaps most memorable apparent in first his handling of young child actors in terms of storytelling and the social issues that (he has made this observation himself) and underpin the emotional dramas. secondly in the location of many of his films on the streets of Tehran. On this score he maintains that Because of his social commitment, Panahi would Italian neo-realism was very much of its time and inevitably fall foul of the increasingly conservative !1 official film authorities. Panahi’s 2000 film The forming a production group, making a ‘film’, Circle which follows the different stories of a group giving interviews and travelling abroad where he of young women who have been given custodial might meet foreign critics. These restrictions were sentences in Tehran was the first to cause its to be in place for twenty years and a prison director major problems but it was after a non-film sentence of six years was suspended. action – supporting the Green Opposition movement in Iran in 2009 – that Panahi was forced Panahi was for a time put under house arrest and to change his approach. Taxi Tehran and Crimson out of this period came This Is Not a Film (2011), Gold make an interesting contrast in representing a film smuggled out of Iran on a memory stick the change in approach between 2003 and 2015. and again shown at international festivals. This film questioned the concept of a ‘film’ with Panahi Being a ‘political filmmaker’ seemingly shooting scenes himself with a colleague inside his apartment. In 2013 Panahi “I have to tell you again that I’m not a political and his collaborators (all taking a big risk) person. I don’t like political movies. But I take produced a second chamber piece, related to every opportunity to comment on the social This Is Not a Film. This was Closed Curtain. But issues. I talk about the current issues. To me it’s though this got international recognition again, it not important what is the reason for what has didn’t get the same kind of distribution support happened. Whether it’s political reasons or and some felt it was an unsubtle attempt to fight geographical reasons: these are not important – back against the restrictions. but the condition, the social issues. Tehran Taxi resolves these problems by allowing “It is important to me to talk about the plight of Panahi to get into his car and tour the streets of humanity at that time. I don’t want to give a Tehran. Virtually everything is seen from the political view, or start a political war. I think viewpoint of mini-cameras positioned in the car. that the artist should rise above this. Political The film was shot secretly with friends. Everyone movies have limited time. After that time, it who appears is a ‘collaborator’ and what we see doesn’t say anything anymore. But if the whole is a fictionalised (i.e. scripted and organised/ thing is said in an artistic way, then it doesn’t choreographed) version of ‘real’ events. It must have a time limit. So it doesn’t really serve a have been a dangerous project since the team political purpose. Then it can be everlasting, for had to ‘remove the roof’ of the car to allow in always, and it could be for anywhere. But I know enough natural light. (I’m guessing this means that politically, with the film authorities, with they removed the sun roof.) They shot for fifteen any kind of film that has some political days and then a rough cut was made which was background in it, they would disagree with it. then post-produced (the roof was ‘returned’ via And for this reason, that is what the problem is.” digital effects) and prepared for release in Paris. (Jafar Panahi in an interview with Stephen Teo in 2001 when his film The Circle was shown at The actual shooting of the film is in itself the work the Hong Kong Film Festival. Retrieved from the of a highly-skilled and talented filmmaker but the Senses of Cinema website.) real genius is in the conception of the film narrative. The key sequence is that featuring This thoughtful and eloquent statement was Panahi’s young niece who has been given a made after Panahi’s first three films. After his fifth school project to make a short film. If you listen feature, Offside in 2006, the position of the Iranian carefully to the instructions she has been given authorities hardened even further. Previously they about what constitutes an acceptable film to be had simply banned his films in Iran, which, completed for the project, you’ll recognise that although it made access to his films difficult in his everything that we see inside Panahi’s car (and home country, didn’t stop the films appearing through its windows) is a direct refutation of the abroad and winning prizes. Consequently the ‘official line’ on what an Iranian film should be. films were released in several countries and pirate copies made their way back to Iran’s Tehran Taxi achieves the Holy Grail of filmmaking. ‘underground’ film market. The authorities It is an intensely political film that is also light as a arrested Panahi in 2010 and banned him from feather and thoroughly entertaining. !2 Crimson Gold (2003) A note on Iranian law enforcement The two central characters of Crimson Gold are There is currently a single unified police force in pizza delivery men working for a relatively large Iran. There is also still a voluntary body forming concern that employs several motorcycle riders. the ‘morality police’. Known as the Basij this force Hussein is the older of the two, a large man we now comes under the control of the Revolutionary later learn is probably suffering from the side Guards.