A cinematic sit-in

In December, Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were sentenced to six years in prison, and Panahi was banned from making movies in and leaving Iran for 20 years.

Although Panahi is a recognized name in the international film community—he’s won the Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or and Un Certain Regard prizes, among other honors—he’s not a household name in the U.S. That’s why Facets will host a free protest screening of Panahi’s acclaimed 2000 feature, The Circle—a chronicle of modern hardships affecting a group of Iranian women—on Sunday 16.

Charles Coleman, Facets’ program director, feels showing The Circle and holding a post-screening discussion is an important first step in educating the public. “His case is really extreme, because we’re talking a six-year jail sentence and a subsequent 20-year ban on him making films, directing films, writing screenplays, or giving any form of an interview in Iranian or foreign media. Or leaving the country,” Coleman says. “Not only is he being imprisoned physically, but artistically, too.”

Though Sunday’s Circle screening is a protest in name, Coleman says the event’s aim is to inform people about Panahi, his work (which includes such art-house hits as The White Balloon and Crimson Gold) and his imprisonment, not gather a group to wave signs and shout slogans.

Panahi and Rasoulof were arrested last March for allegedly making an anti-regime film. Though some of Panahi’s films have been banned in Iran, both directors’ movies tend to focus on humanist themes. But beyond their films, Panahi and Rasoulof (Iron Island) have openly criticized the Iranian government. Panahi has also shown support for the Iranian government’s opposition, which University of Chicago associate professor of Persian language and literature Franklin Lewis thinks is what’s behind the recent ruling.

“Up until this point, although he may not have been seen as a desirable person by the government, they have let him make films,” Lewis says. “What seems to be causing his difficulty is the post-election turmoil of 2009 and his support of the Green Party, which the government is trying to suppress.”

Facets has hosted similar protest-style screenings and events to highlight international issues before. Throughout the ’80s, Facets screened banned movies by Eastern European filmmakers. In October 2001, Facets presented a free showing of Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujahedin, a documentary about the creation of an emergency hospital for victims of war in Afghanistan. That same month, the Facets staff organized an international petition to free Tahmineh Milani, an Iranian filmmaker who was threatened with execution for her film The Hidden Half.

After Sunday’s event, Coleman says, “We’re gonna try and do what we can to make sure people realize there’s an ongoing struggle outside the movie theater.

The Circle screens at Facets Sunday 16 at 1pm. A discussion moderated by WBEZ’s Jerome McDonnell and DePaul professor Kaveh Ehsani will follow the film.

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