Famous Iranian Film Director Released After Two Days of Prison Hunger Strike

Jafar Panahi, Multiple Award Winner at Yusu Film Festival
"Declares Hunger Strike Against Authorities' Inhumane Acts"

Jafar Panahi (63), an Iranian film director who has won multiple awards at prestigious international film festivals including the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, was released on bail after two days of a hunger strike in prison.

According to the British BBC on the 4th (local time), Director Panahi was released the day before from Evin Prison in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Evin Prison is notorious for primarily housing political prisoners. When Panahi was released, supporters waiting in front of the prison embraced him and shared their joy.

Iranian film director Jafar Panahi is welcomed by supporters immediately after his release from Evin Prison on the 3rd (local time).
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Earlier, Panahi’s wife Tahereh Saeedi and son posted on Instagram the news that Panahi had started a hunger strike, along with a statement he sent from prison. In the statement, Panahi solemnly declared, "I solemnly declare that from the 1st, I am entering a hunger strike against the illegal and inhumane actions of the Iranian judiciary and security authorities, as well as their indiscriminate detention." He added, "I will not eat food or take medicine until I am released," and "Even if I die and leave prison, my resolve will not change."

Panahi was sentenced in 2010 to six years in prison and banned from traveling abroad and making films for 20 years for attending the funeral of Iranian students who were shot and killed during protests in 2009. He was conditionally released after two months in prison but continued his filmmaking activities despite the travel ban, leading to his re-arrest in July last year. At that time, the director was visiting Evin Prison to meet fellow filmmakers including Mohammad Rasoulof who were detained by the authorities, and was immediately arrested. The Iranian judiciary explained this by stating that he was re-detained to complete the six-year prison sentence imposed in 2010.

Won Cannes 'Cam?ra d'Or' for feature debut... Later received top awards at Venice and Berlin Film Festivals

Panahi, a master director representing Iranian cinema, gained worldwide attention in the film industry at once by winning the 'Cam?ra d'Or' for best first feature at the Cannes Film Festival with his debut feature film The White Balloon (1995). He then won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, for The Circle (2000), and the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Offside (2006).

His works produced after his conditional release were also well received. He won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for the autobiographical film Closed Curtain (2013), and the Golden Bear, the top prize in the competition section at Berlin, for Taxi (2015), which was filmed while traveling around Iran by car. In 2018, he also won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival for Three Faces. However, due to the travel ban imposed by Iranian authorities, he was unable to attend the award ceremonies.

Thierry Fr?maux, the executive director of the Cannes Film Festival, expressed "great relief" at Panahi’s release. In an interview with AFP, he said, "We do not forget all those who have been subjected to violence and oppression in Iran and around the world," and added, "The Cannes Film Festival will always stand with artists worldwide to defend freedom."