AFP is reporting that Iranian officials have released Jafar Panahi's wife and daughter as well as thirteen others, all of whom were arrested in Monday night's nation-wide roundup of political dissidents.
This means that three of the eighteen detainees from Monday night remain in custody, including Panahi, filmmaker Mohammed Rasoulof (whose Iron Islandis a surreal, allegorical exploration of political isolation and paternalistic governance), and Mehdi Pourmoussa, an assistant director who has worked on films by Rafi Pitts and Bahman Ghobadi.
Conflicting reports are coming out of Iran as to the reasons for the arrest, but both conservative and reformist news sources indicate that Panahi was arrested for making a film concerning 2009's sham presidential election and the ensuing protest movement. Panahi's son has denied this claim, but the fact that the two remaining detainees besides Panahi are filmmakers (which AFP didn't pick up on) seems to lend this argument credence.
Added to clarify: The AFP report is rather confusing/confused in its details of the arrests, so I've edited this post to reflect what we know: a total of eighteen people were arrested at the Panahi residence on Monday night, including Panahi, his wife Tahere Saidi, and their daughter Solmaz Panahi. Among those arrested were prominent members of the Iranian film community, including Rasoulof, Pourmoussa, and cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori, who has worked with Samira Makhmalbaf and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, among others. Only Jafar Panahi, Rasoulof, and Pourmoussa remain in custody.
Latest Panahi Developments
AFP is reporting that Iranian officials have released Jafar Panahi's wife and daughter as well as thirteen others, all of whom were arrested in Monday night's nation-wide roundup of political dissidents.
This means that three of the eighteen detainees from Monday night remain in custody, including Panahi, filmmaker Mohammed Rasoulof (whose Iron Island is a surreal, allegorical exploration of political isolation and paternalistic governance), and Mehdi Pourmoussa, an assistant director who has worked on films by Rafi Pitts and Bahman Ghobadi.
Conflicting reports are coming out of Iran as to the reasons for the arrest, but both conservative and reformist news sources indicate that Panahi was arrested for making a film concerning 2009's sham presidential election and the ensuing protest movement. Panahi's son has denied this claim, but the fact that the two remaining detainees besides Panahi are filmmakers (which AFP didn't pick up on) seems to lend this argument credence.
Added to clarify: The AFP report is rather confusing/confused in its details of the arrests, so I've edited this post to reflect what we know: a total of eighteen people were arrested at the Panahi residence on Monday night, including Panahi, his wife Tahere Saidi, and their daughter Solmaz Panahi. Among those arrested were prominent members of the Iranian film community, including Rasoulof, Pourmoussa, and cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori, who has worked with Samira Makhmalbaf and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, among others. Only Jafar Panahi, Rasoulof, and Pourmoussa remain in custody.