Iranian Film Director Sentenced to a Year in Prison Before Winning Big at Gotham Awards

Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Iranian director Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison on charges of creating propaganda “against the system,” his lawyer, Mostafa Nili, announced on Dec. 1.

Panahi, 65, was also barred from leaving Iran for two years and is prohibited from joining any political or social groups, Nili noted on X.

“We will take the necessary legal actions to appeal this ruling within the legal time frame,” his attorney added.

News of the ruling was shared just hours before the “It Was Just an Accident” filmmaker took home best director, best original screenplay, and best international film at the 35th Annual Gotham Awards, held Monday evening at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

“It Was Just an Accident” premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it garnered the coveted Palme d’Or award. The film centers on a group of former political prisoners who believe they’ve found the guard who tortured them, exploring themes of trauma, mercy, and morality.

The gripping thriller was secretly filmed in Iran, where most of Panahi’s films are banned, and was inspired by the director’s own experiences of being imprisoned by Iranian authorities.

In 2010, the acclaimed filmmaker was sentenced to six years in jail for “assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” NPR reported.

Panahi, who was also prohibited from creating films and leaving the country for 20 years, was released after several months following a hunger strike.

Despite the ban, he went on to release a slew of award-winning films, including “Closed Curtain” (2013), “Taxi” (2015), and “3 Faces” (2018), which won best screenplay at Cannes.

Panahi was jailed again in 2022, spending almost seven months at Iran’s notorious Evin Prison before being released on bail. His travel ban was lifted the following year, allowing him to freely leave the country for the first time in more than a decade.

“When they sentenced me to a 20-year ban, I had to find a way to work and make films. If we couldn’t find a way, despair would set in everywhere, especially among young people. And when we did, it gave them hope,” Panahi told The Nation in December.

“In fact, many of the good films in Iranian cinema today are made like this. They don’t have any other option. Either they have to bow to censorship, or if they have to circumvent censorship—it’s the only way.”