email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

CANNES 2011 Official Selection

Panahi and Rasoulof emerge from the shadows

by 

Sentenced to six years in prison and a 20-year ban from working in their country, Iranian directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof will unveil two films made in semi-clandestine conditions in Official Selection (see news) at the 64th Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22).

Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb’s documentary In Film Nis will be shown as a Special Screening, while Rasoulof’s narrative feature Bé Omid é Didar is in the Un Certain Regard selection (see news).

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

"The fact we’re alive and the dream of keeping Iranian cinema intact encourages us to overcome the current restrictions imposed on us," said Panahi in a message to the Cannes Festival. "Our duty drives us to never give up and to look for solutions".

Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux, respectively president and delegate general of the Cannes Festival, have also emphasised that the presence of the films is "an act of courage as well as a wonderful artistic message" on the part of the two directors.

As Cineuropa previously reported, Panahi will also be honoured on the Croisette in the Directors’ Fortnight with the Carrosse d’Or (see news).

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy