Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panâhi (, ) (born 11 July, 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is known internationally for his contributions to Iranian cinema and has received numerous awards at major film festivals, including the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival for ''It Was Just an Accident'', the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for ''Taxi'' (2015), and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for ''The Circle'' (2000), making him the fourth filmmaker (the other three being Henri-Georges Clouzot, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Robert Altman) to win all major prizes at the Big Three film festivals.

Panahi began his career making short films and working as an assistant to Abbas Kiarostami. His debut feature, ''The White Balloon'' (1995), won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the first major award for an Iranian film at that event. A revolutionary filmmaker, he has since been associated with the Iranian New Wave and often explore themes of social injustice and restrictions, political oppression and the experiences of marginalized individuals in Iran.

His films have frequently been banned in Iran, and his career has been marked by conflict with Iranian authorities. In 2010, he was arrested and later sentenced to six years in prison and a 20-year ban on filmmaking and travel. Despite these restrictions, he continued to produce films, including ''This Is Not a Film'' (2011), which was smuggled out of Iran for screening at Cannes.

Other notable works include ''The Mirror'' (1997), ''Offside'' (2006), ''Closed Curtain'' (2013), ''3 Faces'' (2018), and ''No Bears'' (2022). Provided by Wikipedia