Reflecting on the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, Panahi said the movement had permanently altered Iran’s public and artistic life. “In my opinion, the history of these Islamic Republic is divided into before and after … This had affected everything. Of course it would affect cinema too.” At this year’s Academy Awards, four Iranian directors are competing in the Best International Feature Film category, each representing a different country, with a shortlist of finalists due to be announced on March 2.
Submitted Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar after a selection process that excluded films by independent and dissident filmmakers. Among those left out was the critics’ favorite It Was Just an Accident, secretly filmed by internationally acclaimed director Jafar Panahi, who is banned from filmmaking. Panahi’s drama was in turn submitted to the Oscars by France while fellow dissident filmmaker Alireza Khatami’s The Things You Kill will represent Canada.
