MOVIE
Jafar Panahi's film 'No Bears' to be released in January 2024
'No Bears' is a film that adopts the self-documentary format in which director Jafar Panahi appears. It deals with the events that occur when a director, who cannot go to a filming site due to a ban on leaving the country, stays in a border town and films remotely.
The reality outside the film that the director faces, the reality within the film, and the film within the film are triple intertwined. In 2022, an unusual event was created in which the director won the Special Jury Award at the Venice Film Festival while detained.
Director Jafar Panahi began his career as an assistant director under Iran's legendary director Abbas Kiarostami. His first feature 'White Balloon' (1995) won the Camera d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, 'Mirror' (1997) won the Golden Leopard Award at the Locarno Film Festival, 'Circle' (2000) won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and 'Offside' won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. '(2006) won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.
He was arrested for sympathizing with anti-government protests while attending a memorial service for a student who was shot dead during a protest in 2009, and was sentenced to six years in prison, a 20-year ban on traveling abroad, a ban on film production, and a ban on media interviews. However, after making the film 'This Is Not a Movie' (2011) in the form of a video diary while under house arrest, he hid a USB memory in a cake and sent it to the Cannes Film Festival for public release.
Another autobiographical film, 'Closed Curtain' (2013), filmed under house arrest, won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and 'Taxi' (2015), filmed while driving a taxi and meeting people after the house arrest was lifted, won the Berlin International Film Festival Award. He won the Golden Bear Award, and in 2018, he won the Cannes Film Festival Screenplay Award for '3 Faces.'
During the production process of 'No Bears', an absurd incident occurred where the director was actually arrested and detained. The government arrested him in July 2022 on the grounds that he had to complete the six-year prison sentence he was sentenced to in 2010, and while he was in detention, he received news of the Special Jury Award at the Venice Film Festival that year. Fortunately, he was released two days later, on February 3, 2023.
Foreign media outlets said, “Director Panahi’s latest masterpiece, full of captivating beauty” (Washington Post), “Director Panahi’s master class in house arrest filmmaking” (Chicago Tribune), “The most daring achievement of the world’s most exemplary director” (Screen) International) was praised.
Reporter Ha-neul Lee, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr
