The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) was actually hoping to welcome Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (It Was Just An Accident) to its sixtieth version and 80th anniversary edition within the Czech spa city. However a journey ban for the Oscar nominee and one other jail sentence that he’s going through in Iran shattered that hope.
In early June, an Iranian court upheld a verdict discovering Panahi responsible of “propaganda against the regime,” a sentence of 1 yr in jail and a two-year journey ban. The Cannes Palme d’Or 2025 winner can also be prohibted from becoming a member of political and social teams and associations.
The Czech pageant had eyed Panahi as a visitor as a part of the artistic crew behind Hijamat, a Crystal Globe competitors film from Iranian director Nader Saeivar (The Witness), which was produced and edited by Panahi. The movie, starring Kida Khodr Ramadan, Moritz Bleibtreu and Nastassja Kinski, focuses on Murad, 50, whose life is “shaken to the core when he learns that his younger brother is gay,” in keeping with a synopsis. “Murad would like to support his brother, but their traditional Muslim family is against it. As a result, he finds himself subjected to pressures from all sides – from his father, who has close ties to the local imam, and from his brother’s circle of friends as well.”
“We were in touch with Mr. Panahi because we were helping to release his film It Was Just an Accident in Czech cinemas in January, so we did some online interviews” for that, KVIFF creative director Karel Och tells THR. “Because of his crucial involvement in Hijamat, we wanted him to come with the team. It was a plan until the day we found out about his passport being taken away.”
That left Och and the KVIFF crew with a mixture of emotions. “Obviously, we’re very sad,” he says. “We just can’t stop admiring this man, not just for his artistry, but also for his human approach and his courage, which is just jaw-dropping. And it’s not just Mr. Panahi.”
Certainly, KVIFF has screened movies from Iran filmmakers, together with Soheil Beiraghi‘s fourth feature, Bidad (Outcry), which last year won the Special Jury Prize, and also featured a 2023 retrospective of Iranian underground cinema. “We know how Iranian filmmakers who are dealing with certain elements and topics in their movies are aware of the consequences, yet they are fearless,” Och explains. “And that’s one thing that’s actually mind-blowing and one thing to marvel at.”
Och highlights that in its choice, the KVIFF programming crew seems to be for “the art of film, but also something with strong political commentary,” explaining: “We would probably not screen a film which is just a statement, but we are always really happy and keen to support a good film which has a political tone and very clear political ideas.”
