FILMMAKERS CALL FOR RELEASE OF DIRECTOR JAFAR PANAHI

Cole Smithey

AMERICA'S
LEADING FILMMAKERS CALL FOR RELEASE OF IMPRISONED IRANIAN DIRECTOR
JAFAR PANAHI

Steven
Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Robert Redford, Francis Ford Coppola,
Terrence Malick, Steven Soderbergh, the Coen Bros., Jim Jarmusch,
Michael Moore, Ang Lee, Robert De Niro, and Oliver Stone, among
other leading film industry figures, have condemned the detention of
Jafar Panahi, the acclaimed director of "The White Balloon" and
"Offside," and are urging the Iranian government to release him.

New York, NY (April 30,
2010) – Jafar Panahi, an internationally acclaimed Iranian director of
such award-winning films as The White Balloon, The Circle,
Crimson Gold and Offside, was arrested at his home on
March 1st and has been held since in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. A
number of filmmaking luminaries have come to Mr. Panahi's defense and
"condemn his detention and strongly urge the Iranian government to
release Mr. Panahi immediately," according to a new petition. (Petition
text and full list of signatories is available below.)

Islamic Republic officials
initially charged Mr. Panahi with “unspecified crimes.” They have since
reversed themselves, and the charges now allege that he was making a
film against the regime, a very serious accusation in Iran.

Mr. Panahi’s films have been
banned from screening in Iran for the past ten years and he has been
kept from working for the past four years, but he continues to stay in
Iran.

"Mr. Panahi deeply loves his
country," says Jamsheed Akrami, an Iranian-American film scholar and
filmmaker, who helped organize the petition. "Even though he knows he
could have opportunities to work freely outside of his homeland, he has
repeatedly refused to leave. He would never do anything against the
national interests of his country and his people."

Mr. Panahi is one of the
most heralded directors in the world. He has won such top prizes as the
Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Offside
(2006), the Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Crimson
Gold (2003), the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for The
Circle (2000), the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International
Film Festival for The Mirror

(1997) and the Cannes Camera
d'Or for The White Balloon (1995).

PETITION: Free Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panahi, the internationally
acclaimed Iranian director of such award-winning films as The White
Balloon, The Circle, Crimson Gold and Offside,
was arrested at his home on March 1st in a raid by plain-clothed
security forces. He has been held since then in Tehran’s notorious Evin
prison.

A recent letter from Mr. Panahi’s
wife expressed her deep concerns about her husband's heart condition,
and about his having been moved to a smaller cell. Mr. Panahi’s films
have been banned from screening in Iran for the past ten years and he
has effectively been kept from working for the past four years. Last
October, his passport was confiscated and he was banned from leaving the
country. Upon his arrest, Islamic Republic officials initially charged
Mr. Panahi with “unspecified crimes.” They have since reversed
themselves, and the charges are now specifically related to his
work as a filmmaker.

We (the undersigned) stand
in solidarity with a fellow filmmaker, condemn this detention, and
strongly urge the Iranian government to release Mr. Panahi immediately.

Iran’s contributions to
international cinema have been rightfully heralded, and encouraged those
of us outside the country to respect and cherish its people and their
stories. Like artists everywhere, Iran’s filmmakers should be
celebrated, not censored, repressed, and imprisoned.

Signed:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Joel
& Ethan Coen

Francis Ford Coppola

Jonathan Demme

Robert De Niro

Curtis Hanson

Jim Jarmusch

Ang Lee

Richard Linklater

Terrence Malick

Michael Moore