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Iranian director Jafar Panahi has opened his voice about being sentenced in absentia to 1 year in prison and a travel ban imposed by his own country on charges of carrying out “propaganda activities”.
In a discussion session at the 2025 Marrakech Film Festival in Morocco, Panahi said he plans to return to Iran after the Oscar campaign for his latest film,
It Was Just an Accident.
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“I only have one passport,” Panahi said in Persian, sitting next to an English translator.”This is my country’s passport, and I want to keep it.”
“Even though I was given the opportunity, even in the most difficult years, I never considered leaving my country and becoming a refugee somewhere else,” Panahi said.
Panahi has been punished many times by Iran because of his films.In 2010, Panahi was banned from making films for 20 years and eventually left Iran after supporting anti-government protests and making a series of films critical of the conditions of modern Iran.
At that time Panahi was deemed to have committed “propaganda against the system” and was sentenced to six years in prison.However, he only served two months before he was finally released on bail.
Reported
Variety
on Thursday (4/12), Jafar Panahi is currently dividing his time between Iran and France.France also chose the film It Was Just an Accident as its country’s entry for the 2026 Oscars.
“One’s country is the best place to live, whatever its problems and difficulties,” Panahi said.”My country is where I can breathe, where I can find a reason to live, and where I can find the strength to create.”
“The problems Iran is facing today are only temporary problems, just like the problems facing any society.”
On December 1, 2025, Panahi’s lawyer in Iran, Mostafa Nili, said the latest sentence included a travel ban for two years and a ban on Panahi joining any political or social groups.Nili confirmed they would appeal.
Nili said the charges against Panahi were engaging in “propaganda activities” against the country, but did not elaborate.
Previously, Panahi was also banned from making films for 20 years from Iran.But a year later, he instead made a documentary entitled This is Not a Film and sent it to Cannes on a flash drive hidden in a cake.
He also continued making a film called Taxi and released it in 2015, featuring himself as a taxi driver and all of the shooting was done in a car.
In 2022, Panahi was arrested during a protest by a group of filmmakers, but he was released seven months later.
The 65-year-old director won the 2025 Cannes Film Festival’s main award, the Palme d’Or, for his film, It Was Just an Accident.
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The film tells the story of five former Iranian prisoners who negotiate whether they will take revenge against someone they believe is a former prison guard who often tortured them.
Panahi himself last month toured the United States, including visiting Los Angeles, New York and Telluride to promote his film ahead of the 2026 Oscar nomination season.
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