Jafar Panahi's Defence Statement

Jafar Panahi's Defence Statement - presented this week at his first court appearance since leaving jail.

In the past few days I have been watching my favorite films

again, though I did not have access to some of them, which
are among the greatest films of the history of cinema.

My house was raided on the night of March 1st, 2010 while my
colleague Mr. Rasoulof and I were in the process of shooting
what we intended to be a socially conscious art house film.

The people, who identified themselves as agents of the Ministry of
Intelligence, arrested us along with other crew members without
presenting any warrants. They confiscated my collection of
films as well and never returned them to me. Subsequently, the
only reference made to those films was by the prosecutor in
charge of my case, who asked me: "What are these obscene
films you’ re collecting?"


I have learned how to make films inspired by those outstanding
films that the prosecutor deemed obscene. Believe me I have
just as much difficulty understanding how they could be called
obscene as I do comprehending how the activity for which I was
arrested could be seen as a crime? My case is a perfect example
of being punished before committing a crime.

You are putting me on trial for making a film that at the time of our arrest was only thirty per cent shot. You must have heard that the famous creed "There is no god, except Allah” , turns into blasphemy if you only say the first part and omit the second part. In the same vain, how can you establish that a crime has been committed by looking at 30% of rushes for a film that have not been edited yet?

I do not comprehend the charge of obscenity directed at the
classics of the film history, nor do I understand the crime I accused of. If these charges are true, you are putting not only
us on trial but the socially conscious, humanistic, and artistic
Iranian cinema as well, a cinema which tries to stay beyond
good and evil, a cinema that does not judge nor surrender to
power or money but tries to honestly reflect a realistic image of
the society.

One of the charges against me is attempting to encourage
demonstrations and incite protests with this film. All through
my career I have emphasized that I am a socially committed
filmmaker not a political one. My main concerns are social
issues; therefore my films are social dramas not political
statements. I never wanted to act as a judge or a prosecutor. I am
not a film maker who judges but one that invites other to see.

I don’ t get to decide for others or to write any kind of manual for
anybody; please allow me to repeat my pretension to place my
cinema beyond good and evil. This kind of belief has caused
my colleagues and my self a lot of trouble; many of my films
have been banned, along with the films of other filmmakers
like me. But it is unprecedented in Iranian cinema to arrest and
imprison a filmmaker for making a film, and harass his family
while he is in prison. This is a new development in the history of
Iranian cinema that will be remembered for a long time.


I have been accused of participating in demonstrations. No
Iranian filmmaker was allowed to use his camera to capture the
events but you can not forbid an artist to observe! As an artist
it is my responsibility to observe in order to get inspired and
create. I was an observer, and it was my right to observe.olitic conside