Directed by Jafar Panahi

Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi’s every work is an act of resistance. In his first two films, the neorealist revelations THE WHITE BALLOON and THE MIRROR, Panahi used the deceptively simple guise of the children’s film to skirt official censorship, offering vivid portraits of Tehran street life through the eyes of young girls on everyday adventures through the city. Officially banned from filmmaking since 2010 on the grounds of political dissent, Panahi has nevertheless found innovative ways to continue working: THIS IS NOT A FILM was shot in his own apartment and smuggled out of Iran on a flash drive embedded in a cake, while TAXI was filmed entirely inside a cab driven by Panahi himself. By turns witty and cuttingly incisive commentaries on contemporary Iranian society, these statements of artistic defiance speak to the courage and persistence of an artist who has refused to be silenced.