Cannes 2011: New Films by Iranian Filmmakers Panahi and Rasoulof Find Freedom in Official Selection

A couple of days back Frémaux & co. completed the Main Competition by migrating Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist out of its Out of Competition slot and into the Competition spotlight, as well as announcing Zvyagintsev’s Elena as the closing night film for Un Certain Regard. We’d thought that the Official Selection was just about set in stone; however, just now Cannes has added two more – one film each to Un Certain Regard and Out of Competition sections – by “imprisoned” (thankfully symbolically speaking) Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi. The oppressed nature in which these films were made can be detected right from their titles: Panahi’s film is titled This is Not a Film (In Film Nist), while Rasoulof’s has the cryptic title Goodbye (Be Omid-e Didar), though I’m told this could also translate to the more hopeful “See You Soon.”

Panahi’s presence had already been slotted in at the Directors’ Fortnight, as he is this year’s recipient of the Carosse d’Or prize, which is being honoured via a screening of his latest feature Offside. Last year, the Competition jury left a vacant seat in his honor, coincidentally corresponding with his release from captivity via bail on May 25, 2010, shortly after the close of the festival. He was once again detained, though, along with his wife on December 20, 2010, this time under a six-year prison sentence and a 20-year employment ban. The additions of these two films clearly marks further protest against their captivity, as well as celebrations of their invaluable contributions to World Cinema.

The nature of the films is a bit mysterious at this point for a number of reasons, namely that both filmmakers are probably being kept on watch. Rasoulof’s highly praised The White Meadows premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival in 2009, eventually making the rounds and landing at the 2010 Tribeca. It is entirely likely that he had another film well on its way. The same could be said for Panahi, who in his seven months of freedom could have very well hurried a film into production. He did, after all, have the short film The Accordion ready in time for Venice last September, and he’s had an Untitled project listed on his imdb page since the end of November – we imagine this is the same project that Panahi submitted as a script in March 2011, but that Iran denied. But if these films were completed by the filmmakers, one wonders why they are such late additions. It seems likely that these were incomplete projects that may have been completed by outside parties, perhaps specifically for the festival — and the sensitive nature of the films meant that the fest were in “protective mode” for the artists.

What adds a bit of anxiety to the selection of these films is that, in addition to six years in jail, Panahi was ordered to not make any films for twenty years and the army of artists and filmmakers such as Mohammad Rasoulof fully understand what is at stake here. If these are in fact new films, it is very likely that they both are/might be breaking that order, and we hope it does not lead to further punishment. We shall see. Here’s how the festival press release describes their selections:

Bé Omid é Didar (Good Bye) (100′) is in the Official Selection, Un Certain Regard and will be screened on Friday May 13th. A feature film, with Leyla Zareh, Fereshteh Sadreorafai, Shahab Hoseini and Roya Teymorian, Good Bye is the story of a young lawyer in Tehran in search of a visa to leave the country, which is what Mohammad Rasoulof did during the winter of 2010/2011.

In Film Nist (This is not a Film) directed by Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmas (75′) is a Special Screening in the Official Selection, and will be screened on Friday May 20th. This film tells how, for months, Jafar Panahi waited for the verdict of his court appeal. Through the depiction of a day in his life, Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb (a documentary filmmaker and former assistant director) offer us an overview of the current situation of Iranian cinema.

“Mohammad Rasoulof’s film and the conditions under which it was made, Jafar Panahi’s ‘diary’ of the days of his life as an artist not allowed to work, are by their very existence a resistance to the legal action which affects them. That they send them to Cannes, at the same time, the same year, when they face the same fate, is an act of courage along with an incredible artistic message. Cannes is the international institution which protects them. Film professionals from world over will gather on the Croisette and unite, we are sure, in a sort of self-evident fellowship” declared Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux.

“Our problems are also all of our assets, Jafar Panazhi says in his message. Understanding this promising paradox helped us not to lose hope, and to be able to go on since we believe wherever in the world that we live, we are going to face problems, big or small. But it is our duty not to be defeated and to find solutions”.