Jafar Panahi

He was nine when he was first awarded for his art.. During the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s he made documentaries from the battlefield and from everyday life of the Persian army, later shown in television. After the war he graduated from college, and his next films brought him distinctions in festivals such as Cannes, Locarno, Venice, and Berlin. In 2010 Panahi, being in conflict with Iranian censorship, was arrested and sentenced to 6 years in prison and was forbidden to work in his profession for 20 years. The artist does not give up, however, and continues to make films.

Past events

Films

  • Taxi Teheran82'

    Production: IRN 2015

    A regular day in Tehran. The congested traffic is spotted with yellow taxi cabs. One of the cars roaming around this gigantic metropolis is different: it has an industrial camera attached to its dashboard, and its driver is Jafar Panahi, the director of the film. His clients include simple people and intellectuals, friends and perfect strangers, random individuals in need and family members with an appointment for the ride.

    “Taxi” is a beautiful audiovisual postcard from Iran, in which a documentary view of reality surrounding the director replaces exotic views. It is one of the reasons for which this year's Berlinale jury were enamoured of the film and awarded it with the main prize – the Golden Bear, and so were the journalists, who gave it the FIPRESCI prize.

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