Jafar Panahi. Free Cinema of Unfree Iran

How to make a movie when you are forbidden to film? Film critic Anton Dolin explores the phenomenon of Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who refused to comply with censorship. Even after being banned from his profession in his homeland, he continues to make films and turns the restrictions imposed by the state into an original artistic language. For many people in creative professions in Russia, Panahi's experience is a possible key to retaining their voice. Dolin's book about Panahi's films, "An Act of Disobedience," was published while the director was in custody, with his life itself in danger. In 2023, after a dry hunger strike, Panahi was released. In 2025, his new film "Simple Accident"—the most politically outspoken and, of course, made illegally—won the "Golden Palm Branch." The film shocked the world and led to the release of the second edition of Anton Dolin's book—under a different title, updated, and supplemented with new chapters and direct speech from the main character. "Free Cinema of Unfree Iran" is an open conversation about how true art can, must, and will triumph over censorship.