ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

jafar panahi

Reviews 

NO BEARS – Review by Diane Carson

Diane Carson , ,

Confined to house arrest over the last decade, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi continued creating unsanctioned, humanistic cinema. In that regard, Panahi’s latest, multilayered film, No Bears, again proves his truly imaginative, complex, at times even playful interrogation of tradition versus progress, freedom versus oppression, rumor versus evidence. The central character is Panahi himself playing a barely fictionalized role, a director who retreats from Tehran to the village of Joban near the border with Turkey.

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Reviews 

CRIMSON GOLD – Review by Diane Carson

Diane Carson , , , ,

An ideal partnership is realized in Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s Crimson Gold, written by his Iranian film mentor and friend, Abbas Kiarostami. Though Iran regularly bans both men’s work and, upon occasion, detains them, Panahi and Kiarostami continue to make astonishing films, this one shrewdly critiquing social inequity through a pizza delivery man’s experiences over two days.

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Reviews 

NASRIN – Review by Loren King

Loren King , , , , , ,

This urgent documentary offers an up-close look at Iranian human rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh who for nearly 20 years, at great personal risk, has fought for the rights of women, children, LGBTQ people and political prisoners condemned to death by the Iranian government. For anyone not familiar with this ordinary yet extraordinary figure, Nasrin will be an eye-opening and life-changing experience.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 8, 2019: 3 FACES

Jennifer Merin 0 Comments , , , , , , , ,

The life of an actress isn’t always an easy one — even more so in a country like Iran, where traditional currents run strong and “following your dreams” isn’t so simple for any woman, let alone a woman who wants to take to the stage. In his latest uniquely crafted film, Jafar Panahi again defies the Iranian government’s ban on his film production to explore themes of dreams vs family and social obligations. 3 Faces, a compelling drama about craft and connection.

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Reviews 

3 FACES – Review by Marilyn Ferdinand

Marilyn Ferdinand (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments , , , , , , ,

Since the Iranian government imposed a 20-year filmmaking ban on Jafar Panahi in 2010, the scrappy director has made and smuggled out four films, including his latest, 3 Faces. The irrepressible Panahi is critical of Iran’s repressions against women and continues to plead for their freedom in this farcical, subversive film.

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Reviews 

3 FACES – Review by Jennifer Merin

Jennifer Merin 0 Comments , , , , ,

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been banned by the Iranian government from making movies for 20 years, yet he always invents creative ways to practice his craft by documenting his own interactions with actors and ‘civilians.’ In 3 Faces Panahi and actress Behnaz Jafari take to the road to try too solve a mystery about what happened to a young woman who wanted to escape her traditional family to become an actress. The plot twists itself into an intriguing mystery about weather the girl is alive or dead.

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