Born in 1960 in Tehran, Jafar Panahi is considered one of the most influential filmmakers of the Iranian New Wave movement. Panahi’s directorial debut, The White Balloon, won the Caméra d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, marking a significant milestone for Iranian cinema. He has since received numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for The Circle (2000), the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Taxi (2015), and more recently, the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival for It Was Just an Accident. Panahi’s films often explore themes of social injustice, political oppression, and the experiences of marginalized individuals in Iran. Despite facing repeated bans and imprisonment by the Iranian government, he has continued to produce films, often working in secret and smuggling them out of the country for international screenings. His resilience and commitment to artistic expression have made him a symbol of resistance against censorship and a voice for creative freedom in Iran.
