“It was really difficult to bear … All the backbones of filmmaking are out. I really miss all those films that they could have made in Iran and they never did,” he said through a translator. “I don’t have the courage and I don’t have the ability to leave Iran and stay out. I have stayed there and I’m going to work there.” Scorsese urged distributors, festivals, and streamers to step in. “These films would have to be supported,” he said. “Streaming platforms have a lot of room. And they throw things … There’s no reason why, you know, a Criterion, Mubi, and Amazon, all of that, couldn’t show these films.”
Platforms should “curate them a bit” so audiences can find and understand them, he added. Panahi recalled being banned from filmmaking for 20 years following his arrest. “When they told me that I could not make films for 20 years, or write, or give interviews, or leave for 20 years, I was in shock,” he said. “50% of your energy and your strength goes into finding the way to … make a film. And you only have 50% left for creativity and for the work itself.”
