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In 2010, Panahi was banned from leaving Iran and from film-making for 20 years. 'This Is Not a Film' was the first film he made in 2011 while in lock-down following the state imposed ban. The film made in the director's apartment is a depiction of a day in his life spent in isolation. The film was smuggled out of the country in a USB stick hidden in a cake.
Pictures: TwitterIn 2000, Jafar Panahi made the film 'The Circle' which is a story about two women convicts escaping from Iranian prison. Panahi's underlying message in the film was that being a woman in Iran is a much bigger prison for them.
'Offside' (2006) is a story about a group of young female soccer fans trying to enter the stadium where the World Cup qualifying match between Bahrain and Iran was taking place on June 8, 2005. In Iran, women are prohibited from attending sports events. In the film, the girls all dresses up as men to enter the match. Jafar Panahi has been a true critic of the Iranian government due to its oppression against Iranian women.
In 2003, Panahi directed 'Crimson Gold' which begins with a poor pizza delivery man robbing a jewellery store. The film shows the inequalities between the rich and the poor; and the injustice prevalent in society.
Jafar Panahi made 'Closed Curtain' in 2013 when he was placed under house arrest. The plot is of a screenwriter who lives a secluded, isolated life at his seaside home and whose life gets disturbed by a woman fleeing the police. Panahi secretly filmed the movie with a small crew at his own seaside home.
Closed Curtain (2013)Jafar Panahi became a cab driver with a dashboard cam in his 2015 film, 'Taxi'. At the first glance, the audience might expect only random encounters as Panahi drives his taxi through the streets of Tehran. But it will soon become clear to the audience, the passengers or the characters are playing the scripted roles. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights activist was one of the passengers, who has dedicated her life in representing activists.
'No Bears', his latest film has been named one of the top 10 films of 2022 by the New York Time. Panahi shot the film in an isolated village on the Turkish border. Currently, Panahi is on hunger strike in jail.
