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Truly Free Film

We Must Defend The Rights Of Artists Everywhere: Jafar Panahi’s Defense

Last week Iranian Filmamaker Jafar Panahi had his trial in Teheran.  He has not been allowed to make a film in five years.  This post is Jafar Panahi’s defense, his closing remarks,  presented to the court of Iran.

Your Honor, I would like to present t my defense in two parts.

Part 1:  What they say

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?

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Truly Free Film

Job Ops In IndieLand (pt.6): Move Beyond A Single Product

Most industries and practices get stuck in a rut of doing things the way they’ve always been done.  The film world is a stellar example of this phenomenon.  Most practices are designed around the way the world used to be, not how it is now.  The film world and it’s economy used to be based around scarcity, but now we live in a world of abundance.  Adapting to this change will bring new opportunities.  The first step is acknowledging that change.

Some Job Opportunities in Indie Film with Ted Hope (part 6) from Hope for Film on Vimeo.

If you missed the prior posts on Job Opportunities in Indie Film, watch them here:
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Seven.

Special thanks to Chris Stetson for shooting, editing, and posting this.