Jafar Panahi's Cannes Palme d'Or is a ‘Powerful Blow to the Machinery of Repression in the Islamic Republic,' Says ‘Seed of the Sacred Fig' Director Mohammad Rasoulov (EXCLUSIVE)
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulov, who in May 2024 escaped from Iran to Europe after receiving a jail sentence from the country's authorities for making his drama 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig,' has issued a strong statement underlining the significance of fellow dissident auteur Jafar Panahi scooping the Cannes Palme d'Or on Saturday for his revenge drama 'It Was Just an Accident.'
'This victory is an unexpected and powerful blow to the machinery of repression in the Islamic Republic,' Rasoulov, who lives in Germany, said in a joint statement made on Sunday with producers Kaveh Farnam and Farzad Pak of the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Association (IIFMA).
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'We congratulate Jafar Panahi; his family, who have stood by him with patience and resilience over the years; and the cast and crew of this film, who—through solidarity, trust, and courage—resisted threats and pressure from security forces during its difficult and clandestine production,' the statement added.
'We are heartened to know that the film will soon be screened widely across the world, and we have no doubt that 'It Was Just an Accident' will reach Iranian audiences before long—outside the official cinema networks, through the Internet,' it continued.
Panahi, who was able to travel to Cannes to promote his surreptitiously shot film after being incarcerated twice for 'propaganda against the state' and banned from leaving Iran for more than 14 years, made an impassioned plea after being given the Palme.
'I believe this is the moment to call on all people, all Iranians, with all their differing opinions, wherever they are in the world — in Iran or abroad — to allow me to ask for one thing,' Panahi said, speaking through an interpreter.
'Let's set aside all problems, all differences. What's most important now is our country and the freedom of our country,' he added. 'Let us join forces. No-one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do, or what we should not do' Panahi continued while sharing the stage with the cast of his film, including several unveiled actresses.
'It Was Just an Accident' is about a group of former political prisoners who kidnap a man whom they believe to be their former interrogator and torturer. The film, which the director in an interview with Variety said was inspired by his experiences in an Iranian prison, has now given Panahi, who is 64, the rare distinction of having won the top prize at all three major European film festivals, after taking Berlin's Golden Bear for 'Taxi' in 2015 and the Golden Lion at Venice for 'The Circle' in 2000. Panahi was not able to attend those festivals due to his ban which was lifted in April 2023.
Asked by French news agency AFP if he was worried about returning to Iran after winning the top film prize at Cannes for 'It Was Just an Accident,' he replied: 'Not at all. Tomorrow we are leaving.'
Meanwhile, as the dissident director heads back to Iran, Iranian media are largely ignoring Jafar Panahi's momentous Cannes Palme d'Or victory.
Though Iran's state news agency IRNA trumpeted Panahi's award with a picture of him and the headline 'The world's largest film festival made history for Iranian cinema,' news that Panahi scooped the Palme did not appear on the websites of the nation's top English-language news outlets, Tehran Times and Iran Daily on Sunday. Instead, the latter published an item announcing that 'The Last of the Whale Shark,' a documentary by Iranian filmmaker Ramtin Balef, will be screening in competition at the upcoming Raindance Film Festival in London.
Below is the full statement from Mohammad Rasoulov, Kaveh Farnam and Farzad Pak:
The Palme d'Or awarded to A Simple Accident marks the beginning of a new wave of success for a cinema that has emerged from the heart of prohibition and censorship.
This victory is an unexpected and powerful blow to the machinery of repression in the Islamic Republic.
We congratulate Jafar Panahi; his family, who have stood by him with patience and resilience over the years; and the cast and crew of this film, who—through solidarity, trust, and courage—resisted threats and pressure from security forces during its difficult and clandestine production.
We are heartened to know that the film will soon be screened widely across the world, and we have no doubt that A Simple Accident will reach Iranian audiences before long—outside the official cinema networks, through the internet.
After years of perseverance, resistance, and creative struggle by generations of filmmakers, the decaying and collapsing system of censorship has been pushed back. Iran's censorship-defying cinema is now more alive and deeply rooted than ever. We believe in the future of this cinema, and we are confident that many Iranian filmmakers—especially the younger generation—are seeking new paths to create works that are free, humane, and liberating.
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