I know I haven't posted too much lately here, guys, but my friend Evan forwarded me this news item from the AV Club about the arrest of filmmaker Jafar Panahi on Monday night in a roundup of dissidents, and I felt the need to comment.
I don't like using the word 'important' to describe filmmakers, because as important as a given director or a given movie is to the medium, there are very few of either whose work makes a palpable impact on the world as a whole. Jafar Panahi, a maverick Iranian filmmaker whose work is humanistic and political, stands near the forefront of that list of filmmakers whose work is Important. In just a few films, he has outlined in exquisite detail the place of women in Iranian society. He has served as an advocate for a liberalizing tendency in Iranian culture, and as such, his films have all been banned in their home country.
Offside (2006)
But they are essential films, films that you should see - The Circle, Crimson Gold, and Offside, probably his best known film here, the story of Iranian women trying to sneak into a forbidden soccer match by disguising themselves as men. What they are not is boring mindfood: as intelligent and aware Panahi is, his films are also relentlessly entertaining, drawing deeply lovable characters trying to negotiate a society that refuses to tolerate them.
At this stage, there's very little we can do as observers with regard to Iran and Panahi - it's certainly possible that they'll let the filmmaker and his family go, as they did when they arrested him last year at a public memorial for those slain during the election protests. What we can do, though, is raise awareness of this situation and of Panahi's films.
Jafar Panahi Arrested
I know I haven't posted too much lately here, guys, but my friend Evan forwarded me this news item from the AV Club about the arrest of filmmaker Jafar Panahi on Monday night in a roundup of dissidents, and I felt the need to comment.
I don't like using the word 'important' to describe filmmakers, because as important as a given director or a given movie is to the medium, there are very few of either whose work makes a palpable impact on the world as a whole. Jafar Panahi, a maverick Iranian filmmaker whose work is humanistic and political, stands near the forefront of that list of filmmakers whose work is Important. In just a few films, he has outlined in exquisite detail the place of women in Iranian society. He has served as an advocate for a liberalizing tendency in Iranian culture, and as such, his films have all been banned in their home country.
Offside (2006)
But they are essential films, films that you should see - The Circle, Crimson Gold, and Offside, probably his best known film here, the story of Iranian women trying to sneak into a forbidden soccer match by disguising themselves as men. What they are not is boring mindfood: as intelligent and aware Panahi is, his films are also relentlessly entertaining, drawing deeply lovable characters trying to negotiate a society that refuses to tolerate them.
At this stage, there's very little we can do as observers with regard to Iran and Panahi - it's certainly possible that they'll let the filmmaker and his family go, as they did when they arrested him last year at a public memorial for those slain during the election protests. What we can do, though, is raise awareness of this situation and of Panahi's films.
The Circle (2000)