Jafar Panahi’s Taxi

January 24, 2016 · Knoxville Museum of Art · 2:00 p.m.

Internationally acclaimed director Jafar Panahi (This is Not a Film) drives a yellow cab through the vibrant streets of Tehran, picking up a diverse (and yet representative) group of passengers in a single day. Each man, woman, and child candidly expresses his or her own view of the world, while being interviewed by the curious and gracious driver/director.

Panahi’s camera, placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio, captures a spirited slice of Iranian society while also brilliantly redefining the borders of comedy, drama and cinema.

“Taxi may feel slight and loose, but it exudes joy and wit. Panahi, intermittently glimpsed smiling behind glasses and flat cap, seems to be having a great time in enjoyable company—and it’s only a shame that we don’t know who most of his collaborators are.” — Jonathan Romney, Film Comment

“The Iranian government has banned Jafar Panahi from traveling abroad and making films, and with Taxi, Panahi transforms these limitations into an artistic triumph.” — Travis Jeppesen, Artforum

About the Filmmaker

After several years of making short films and working as an assistant director for fellow Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi achieved international recognition with his feature film debut, The White Balloon (’95), which won the Caméra d’Or, the first major award won by an Iranian film at Cannes. After several years of conflict with the Iranian government over the content of his films, Panahi was arrested in March 2010 and later charged with propaganda against the Iranian government. While awaiting the result of an appeal he made This Is Not a Film (’11), which was smuggled out of Iran in a flash drive hidden inside a cake and shown at Cannes. Panahi remains under arrest today.