The great Iranian director Jafar Panahi was sentenced yesterday to 6 years in prison and banned from filmmaking for 20 years. He is also forbidden from having any contact with journalists and film critics. Panahi and his films (The Circle, Crimson Gold, Offside,etc.) have been the subject of all kinds of repression by the Iranian regime. None of his films after The White Balloon (1995) have been allowed to show in theaters in Iran. They are very popular because of pirated video versions sold in the black market with Panahi's blessing. Since his latest arrest, on March 1st, 2010, the world's film community has consistently protested the treatment of Panahi and offered support. As someone who has been edified, inspired, and emotionally rattled by his films, I want to use this forum to briefly express a feeling of outrage and sorrow at the jailing and silencing of this artist and any other suffering a similar fate.
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