Cinema of Iran

Venice hosted an unprecedented collaboration between Israeli and Iranian filmmakers, who say there are similarities between their governments and hope they can set an example for greater unity between their people.

Iranian authorities released star actor Taraneh Alidoosti on bail on Jan. 4 after holding her for almost three weeks over her support for the protest movement, her lawyer said.

Award-winning dissident Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi was arrested Monday, the third director to be detained in less than a week, the Mehr news agency said.

Panahi, 62, has won a slew of awards at international festivals for films that have critiqued modern Iran, including the top prize in Berlin for "Taxi" in 2015, and best screenplay at Cannes for his film "Three Faces" in 2018.

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi had been thinking about the concept behind "A Hero" long before he started making movies.

Ljubljana – Hit the Road, a chaotic family road trip movie by Iranian director Panah Panahi, is the winner of the Kingfisher Award, the main award handed out at the Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFE).

Panahi’s debut feature is a multi-layered portrait of an Iranian family and Iranian society at large set in a road trip through north-western Iran.

Iranian director Jafar Panahi's film "Three Faces" has won the Best Film award at the 55th International Antalya Film Festival.

The new film by Iran's Jafar Panahi, who is banned from leaving Iran, has premiered to a standing ovation at the Cannes film festival, with a seat left symbolically empty for the dissident director.

The Thessaloniki Film Festival is showcasing one of the most interesting national cinemas in the world right now with a tribute to Iranian film at the Stavros Tornes theater at the port complex. Organized in cooperation with the Iranian Embassy's Cultural Center, the tribute comprises six fiction features and two documentaries that illustrate Iran's blossoming cinema scene.

Parviz Shahbazi (L)

The Greek Film Archive (aka Tainiothiki) is hosting a tribute to award-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi through Wednesday, January 18. Screenings include "The Salesman" (2016), "Le Passe" (2013), "A Separation" (2011) and "About Elly" (2009). Admission costs 5 euros.