1) This Is Not A Film
There’s a fascinating story behind the incongruously titled This Is Not A Film, a story that intertwines the aspects of governmental oppression, creative freedom, censorship, moral politics, and most prominently of all – a deeply embedded love for the art of filmmaking.
At the end of 2010, prolific and outspoken director Jafar Panahi was declared an enemy of the Iranian state for producing films that were considered to be propaganda pieces against the current governmental regime. Panahi was sentenced to six years imprisonment, and strictly banned from making movies for 20 years. This Is Not A Film was shot illegally on a smart phone within the confines of Panahi’s home whilst he was on house arrest, and incredibly smuggled to Cannes film festival inside a birthday cake.
This Is Not A Film is an aching, simplistic portrait of a tenacious human being who finds himself at war with his own government simply for making films. We see Panahi on the phone to his lawyer and talking with the cameraman as he quietly mulls over his criminal sentence, the state of Iran, his previous career, and life as a whole. It’s quite unlike anything you will have ever seen before.
The movie reached an international audience after being screened at Cannes, receiving rapturous acclaim and prompting many directors all over the world to pledge their support toward a campaign demanding for Panahi to be released. Whilst the restrictions on the filmmaker currently remain in place, Panahi has managed to release another film titled Closed Curtain, which resulted in the movie’s two lead actors having their passports confiscated by the Iranian government to prevent them from promoting the film outside the country.