CAIRO (AP) — Iran has sentenced acclaimed director Jafar Panahi in absentia to a year in prison even as he won new awards for his latest film.
The Tehran court also imposed a two-year ban on Panahi leaving Iran after finding him guilty on charges of “propaganda activities against the system,” his lawyer Mostafa Nili said in a post on X. Nili said he would appeal the decision.
News of the verdict came as Panahi was in New York on Monday night, accepting three awards at the annual Gotham Awards for his film “It Was Just an Accident,” which also won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in September. Panahi has not commented on the verdict and there was no immediate information on whether he plans to return to Iran.
Panahi is one of Iran's most celebrated contemporary directors and continues to make films despite Iranian authorities repeatedly imprisoning him, banning him from travel and placing him under house arrest over the past 20 years. He secretly filmed It Was Just an Accident in Iran after a seven-month stint in prison, which only ended in 2023 when he went on a hunger strike.
He said he drew on the stories of other prisoners for the film, a revenge drama in which a group of ex-cons find the man they believe may have been their tormentor in prison. But since they were blindfolded in prison, it was difficult for them to be sure.
France chose this film as their entry for the Oscars.
