In amongst all the complaints from directors and writers about “creative control,” it’s sometimes important to remember that, in some parts of the world, filmmakers can risk their freedom in order to say what they want. The Guardian is reporting that director Jafar Panahi, who won the Camera D’Or at Cannes in 1995 for “The White Balloon,” and the Golden Lion at Venice for “The Circle” has been taken into custody by authorities in Iran.
The filmmaker, whose acclaimed work also includes “Crimson Gold” and “Offside,” has long been held in suspicion by the regime, and was arrested last year following the election protests (Panahi is a key supporter of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi), and was quickly released, although it’s believed that he’s been kept under close watch since, and was recently forbidden from travelling to the Berlin Film Festival. Now, Mousavi’s site Kaleme reports (via The Guardian) that the director was arrested, along with his wife, daughter, and 15 guests, at a dinner party last night, and several “personal belongings” were taken.
Obviously, we sincerely hope Panahi, and all his family and friends are swiftly released. We’ll update as the story develops.