Post Reports – January 22, 2026

Episode: The Iranian director who risked his freedom to make his Oscar-nominated film
Host: Elahe Izadi, The Washington Post
Guest: Jafar Panahi (via translator Sheydha Dayani)

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with legendary Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi about his Oscar-nominated film It Was Just an Accident. Despite decades of censorship, imprisonment, and a current one-year prison sentence, Panahi continues to make films in secret, risking his freedom to tell the stories of ordinary Iranians under repressive conditions. The discussion unpacks Panahi’s motivations, his filmmaking process under authoritarian constraints, the social and political questions central to his work, and what recognition from the Oscars means to him and Iranian cinema.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Panahi’s Compulsion to Make Art Despite Repression

• Opening Question: Why does Panahi keep making films despite repeated imprisonment and bans from his craft?
  • Panahi: "Because I know no other work." (00:34)
• Panahi’s passion for filmmaking is inseparable from his identity and existence–not just a career, but a form of survival and expression.

“I have the sense of being alive a lot more there [in Iran] than I do here. I know how to enjoy life better over there than I do here.” (08:14)

2. The Risks and Realities of Underground Filmmaking in Iran

• Iranian government strictly controls and censors film production; Panahi’s latest project was made without approval, in complete secrecy.
• On Working Underground:
  • "People who work with me or with films like this know what they're getting themselves into... Our crew members and actors also think that they would be doing the same sort of resistance, and why wouldn't they participate in a social movement?" (03:58)
• Strategies for Secrecy:
  • Small crews to attract less attention
  • Unique filming tactics (e.g., hiding cameras, as in earlier films like Taxi)
  • Adaptation to ongoing pressure:

    "As we say in Persian, they throw you out the door, you come back from the window." (05:20)

• No Single Formula:
  • Each project demands its own creative workaround. Panahi references making This Is Not a Film and Taxi under prior bans, each requiring unique methods. (06:50 – 07:34)

3. Facing New Prison Sentences, and the Determination to Return

• During the making of It Was Just an Accident, Panahi received a sentence of one year in prison for "propaganda activities against the system."
  • Despite appealing the decision, he insists on returning to Iran:

    “If they were to tell me that we're done with the campaign today, I would return exactly tomorrow... I know the place, I know the country, I know its people, the language, and the culture very well.” (08:14)

• On Anticipated Punishment:
  • "For every film that I made without a permit, I knew that there will be challenges and there will be consequences, and I continue to make them because I had accepted the price that I need to pay." (09:23)
• Recognizes a lineage of filmmakers facing harassment and prison in Iran, emphasizing that repression cannot stifle the impulse to create.

4. Source of Strength and Motivation for Filmmakers

• On Courage:
  • "When you are in pain and you have the sense that you need to speak, speak up, you don't have to have a particular sense of courage or extra energy. It is that pain and it is that suffering that automatically gives you the energy to go forward…” (11:02)

5. Social vs. Political Filmmaking

• Panahi distinguishes himself as a "socially engaged" filmmaker, not a "political" one:
  • Political films, he argues, are partisan, dividing “good” and “bad” by ideology; social films instead depict the complexity of human experience and refrain from judgment.
  • "Socially engaged films do not really look at people based on their ideology or their thought as good or bad... you will not see the film judging characters from the beginning." (12:33)
• Uses layered characters (even the torturer/interrogator in It Was Just an Accident) to avoid simple binaries (13:30 – 14:09).

6. About ‘It Was Just an Accident’ – Premise and Inspirations

• The film: A group of former political prisoners kidnaps a man they suspect was their torturer; because they were blindfolded during interrogations, they're not sure it’s him.
• Why Tell This Story?
  • "Because I lived in that particular time of history and in those particular circumstances, and I thought that I need to speak up about it...The making of this film was sort of forced on me...if I had gone to prison 10 years ago, perhaps I would have made this film 10 years ago." (14:50)
• Filmmaking as language and necessity, not just profession (16:08 – 16:41)

7. Themes: Vengeance, Forgiveness, and Breaking the Cycle of Violence

• Key Scene Analyzed (17:00 – 18:12): Two characters debate whether to use violence against their suspected torturer; one questions, “Because they resorted to violence, we should too? How will this cycle ever stop?”
• Panahi:
  • “The question that I had in mind was, what is going to happen afterwards? Is this going to continue? ...Is this cycle of violence going to bring itself into the next generation, next future, or is it going to be cut?” (18:12)
• Encourages viewers to consider the future beyond the immediate struggle—what comes after oppressive governments fall.

8. Reflecting Social Change: Women Life Freedom & Visual Choices

• Depiction of Women:
  • Panahi purposefully portrays women without hijab post-‘Women Life Freedom’ protests:

    "If I were to show women on the streets without hijab [before the movement], I would not be showing the entire truth... After the Women Life Freedom movement, if I were to not show women who don't have their headscarves on, I would again not be showing the entire truth." (20:12)

9. Role of Humor Amid Tragedy

• Despite the film’s heavy subject matter, Panahi intentionally incorporates humor:
  • "There is humor in everyday life ...people have smiles on and people do have their humor ongoing. And whichever of these elements you take away from a film, it deprives it of its realistic sense.” (21:26)
• Humor serves to make the story more accessible until the film’s final, somber act, intentionally shifting mood and provoking reflection.

10. What Award Recognition Means

• On the Oscars and International Accolades:
  • “A filmmaker makes films in order for the films to be seen and viewed. And success of a film brings curiosity for the audiences to go and see that film...the best gift for a filmmaker for their films to be seen..." (23:56)
  • Values critique and conversation sparked by awards as much as praise, using reactions to learn and grow (24:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Defiance through Art:
  • "As we say in Persian, they throw you out the door, you come back from the window." (05:20)
• On the Cycle of Violence:
  • "Is this cycle of violence going to bring itself into the next generation, next future, or is it going to be cut?" (18:12)
• On Courage and Motivation:
  • “It is that pain and it is that suffering that automatically gives you the energy to go forward, and it is the circumstances that will dictate to you.” (11:02)

Key Timestamps

• 00:34 – Panahi describes why he must make films
• 03:58–06:50 – Making films in secret; strategies, crew mindset
• 08:14 – Why Panahi insists on returning to Iran
• 09:23 – Acceptance of consequences & solidarity in suppression
• 11:02 – Source of strength: pain and necessity, not just courage
• 12:33 – Social vs. political filmmaking
• 14:50 – Why It Was Just an Accident was made now
• 17:00–18:12 – Vengeance, forgiveness, and the cycle of violence
• 20:12 – Women, hijab, and reflecting contemporary Iranian society
• 21:26 – Use of humor in the face of hardship
• 23:56 – Meaning of international recognition

Tone and Voice

The exchange is direct yet deeply personal, reflecting Panahi’s resolve, courage, and philosophical approach. His words, relayed through his translator, are candid, practical, and steeped in empathy—offering a unique window into the lived reality of artists under authoritarian regimes.

Conclusion

This episode offers a vivid portrait of Jafar Panahi’s unyielding commitment to his art and his people, despite extraordinary risk. His reflections on filmmaking as survival, the complex ethics of resistance, and the necessity of humor and realism provide an essential look into the role of art as both document and defiance in authoritarian societies. Whether discussing tactics for eluding censors or the meaning behind an Oscar nomination, Panahi’s insights are both sobering and inspiring—making this a must-listen for anyone interested in international cinema, human rights, or the enduring power of storytelling.