This Is Not a Film

"Now how can I really express myself inside that boundary with the lines I drew? How can I tell the sense and feeling in this kind of film? Not possible." These are the words of the celebrated Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, whose films include and. He is frustrated as he watches scenes from earlier work, while, knowing the odds are stacked against him, he attempts to visualize his new film on the carpet at home. He looks after his daughter's iguana, goes to the door to get the food he ordered, and hands off the garbage to be thrown away. He follows the news and looks from his balcony at the world in which he is not permitted to participate. shows a day in the life of this isolated filmmaker, and it is dedicated to Iranian filmmakers whose work is being made impossible by the regime. Panahi has appealed to a higher court against a prison sentence of six years and a ban prohibiting him from carrying out his profession. Other internationally recognized directors, such as Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Bahman Ghobadi, have already left Iran. This documentary was smuggled out of the country to the Cannes Film Festival on a USB stick, hidden in a cake. Director Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, who made the film together with Panahi, was arrested on September 17 of this year, together with five other Iranian filmmakers. He is still being held.