As you all have heard by now, Jafar Panahi has been convicted to six years in prison in his native country, Iran. The sentence extended by the additional punishment of being banned from directing or producing film, writing scripts, interviewing with media or traveling abroad for the next twenty years. Fellow filmmaker Muhammad Rasoulof also received a six-year sentence.
This is a virtual execution of an artist whose work has been social memory of a nation long suffering from a marked cultural tendency to suppress or repress the social history. Panahi and his films are the witness of a critical time. a witness to the power of art in developing countries and under censureship. And of course there is a sacrificial economy involved in whatever activity one does to resist the hegemony of the dominant power. Wrote Alireza Khatami on facebook
The Western World thinks only about the nuclear energy/weapon of Iran. USA and his friends act only when it is about their economical strategic interest. Let’ s push them to look also a little bit to cultural and human rights aspects. The case of Jafar Panahi and Muhammad Rasoulof must be put on the table of any discussions with the Iranian regime about any other issues like nuclear, oil, economy, politic... Culture also worth it, isn’t it ?
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