By Miranda Murray and Michaela Cabrera
CANNES, France (Reuters) -Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was barred from travelling by the government in Tehran for 15 years, appeared on the Cannes Film Festival’s red carpet on Tuesday evening for the premiere of his competition entry “It Was Just An Accident”.
Panahi, who has been arrested several times for his filmmaking, was last at the festival in person in 2003, when “Crimson Gold” was screened in the Un Certain Regard category.
His wife and daughter, as well as several of his cast members, including main actor Vahid Mobasseri, also attended.
The 64-year-old director has not officially been under any sanctions for the past few years, and no court cases are currently pending, according to a spokesperson for the film.
In 2010, an Iranian court banned Panahi from making movies or travelling abroad for 20 years after he was convicted of “propaganda against the system”.
Panahi wept after the film’s premiere at the plush Grand Lumiere Theatre, his voice wavering as he dedicated the movie to banned filmmakers in Iran, particularly the female directors and actors who supported activists protesting for women’s rights.
In an interview with Screen Daily published on Tuesday, Panahi said that though those bans had been lifted, he still had to maintain a secrecy about his work and to work illegally.
“It Was Just An Accident” follows Vahid, played by Mobasseri, who kidnaps a man with a false leg who looks just like the one who tortured him in prison and ruined his life.
Vahid sets out to verify with other prison survivors that it is indeed their torturer, and then decide what to do with him.
Panahi has won several international awards, including the Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or prize for his 1995 movie “White Balloon” and the 2015 Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear for his film “Taxi”, shot in Iran while he was free on bail.
(Reporting by Miranda Murray and Michaela CabreraEditing by Gareth Jones)
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