A powerful statement from U.S. directors calling for the release of director Jafar Panahi from prison in Iran has been issued. I’ll let the petition speak for itself, but kudos to the organizers for taking action and assembling this illustrious group. New York, NY (April 30, 2010) – Jafar Panahi, an internationally acclaimed Iranian director of such award-winning films as The White Balloon, The Circle, Crimson Gold and Offside, was arrested at his home on March 1st and has been held since in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. A number of filmmaking luminaries have come to Mr. Panahi’s defense and “condemn […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 1, 2010I caught Bahman Ghobadi’s No One Knows about Persian Cats, opening tomorrow at the IFC Center, when it screened at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. In the magazine, I wrote the following: The story told by the Iranian Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi’s No One Knows about Persian Cats would have fit comfortably into an afternoon of mumblecore films at SXSW. A young couple tries to form a band and score an out-of-town gig. Because it’s set in Iran, however, the band is outlawed, money must be scraped together for the expensive exit visa, and the female musician is not even […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 15, 2010