No. 009 - Jafar Panahi at SFF 2025

Attended by Matthew Donlan at Sydney Film Festival

One of the first things announced at this year’s Sydney Film Festival was the Jafar Panahi retrospective, Cinema in Rebellion. Not only was it an enlightening programme for a director overlooked in this country, but it was timely too. Panahi, a seminal director in the Iranian New Wave, was set to premiere his latest film, It Was Just An Accident, at Cannes.

I am sure the SFF programmers were proud of their decision to include this series, not only when they acquired his new film, nor when he won the Palme D’or, but when it was certain that Panahi himself would be a guest of the festival.

Panahi, ever generous, introduced each of his films in the retrospective on weekend one, hosted a QandA after each, and hosted a masterclass on weekend two. He was scheduled to introduce and host a QandA for his latest film on weekend two as well but the events precipitated by Israel’s attack on Iran required his withdrawal to focus on his family’s wellbeing.

I had the incredible privilege of attending four of his films on weekend one, a screening of his new film, and the masterclass. What I observed was an incredibly empathetic and humanistic director who observes Iranian life with a delicate eye.

He repeatedly emphasised that he is not a political leader nor political filmmaker. His focus is on the Iranian people, not the Islamic Republic government, and how they go about everyday life.

He was to the point for weak questions and generous to those who asked well. Often he would tell a story first, painting the picture of his life at the time, before reaching the answer but he was always captivating to listen to.

His masterclass was more a tale of his life, beginning with a memory in first grade of his teacher taking bribes from students during an exam, extending to his time making short films for state television, lingering on his time working with Abbas Kiarostami and concluding with his experiences in prison. What emerged was a man who had been through so much, who had such reason to be angry, speak with such empathy and care.

A key lesson that emerged from hearing Panahi speak was the importance of identifying the context in which you grew up in and how that has informed the way you see the world. From this starting point, it will determine how you tell stories. This self awareness has been integral to Panahi’s way of working. Not only has he been open to working with all on set - as he said a director ‘may be a god but he still needs angels’ - but his self awareness extends to how he engages with film himself. Prior to making features, he found he needed to ‘respect’ his own name. This manifested by destroying the negatives of his made-for-tv short films which he said had ‘no soul’ within them.

Iranian cinema is some of the most powerful, moving and humanistic works of art. But they are funny too. This is down, as Panahi said, to the Iranian culture and people who make these films. Through pain and oppression, Panahi, his contemporaries and the Iranian people find joy in telling their stories and connecting with others.

It has been an honour and privilege to hear from Panahi so many times across the festival. It was truly a once in a lifetime moment.

Editor’s Recommendation

This week I’m recommending you head over to the Hayden Orpheum for one of the many anniversary screenings happening. You could go historical with Barry Lyndon, steamy with Showgirls or sentimental with Before Sunrise.

Screenings: Thursday 26 June - Wednesday 2 July
Inner West Libraries Film Club
Borderland: The Line Within (2024, Pamela Yates)
Friday

Spanish Film Festival | 19 June - 9 July
The Goldsmith’s Secret (2025, Olga Osorio)
Date Night Event
Friday

Mugaritz. No Bread, No Dessert (2024, Paco Plaza)
A Taste of Spain Event
Tuesday

Riverside Parramatta
Carmen & Bolude (2025, Maria Isabel Dela Ossa)
Q+A Screening
Friday

Hayden Orpheum | selected highlights
Showgirls (1995, Paul Verhoeven)
Friday

Before Sunrise (1995, Richard Linklater)
Saturday

Barry Lyndon (1975, Stanley Kubrick)
Sunday

The Story of Souleymane (2024, Boris Lojkine)
Daily

Golden Age Cinema | selected highlights
Universal Language (2024, Matthew Rankin)
Saturday & Monday

The Last Waltz (1978, Martin Scorsese)
Saturday

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927, F.W. Murnau)
Sunday

Ritz Cinemas, Randwick | selected highlights

Fear Below (2024, Matthew Holmes)
Special Screening
Friday

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004, Matthew Holness)
Hosted by Zach Ruane
Saturday

The Shrouds (2024, David Cronenberg)
Preview Event
Wednesday

Robert Altman Retrospective (link)
Thieves Like Us (1974, Robert Altman)
Thursday

Cult Classics (link)
Bound (1996, Lana & Lilly Wachowski)
Saturday & Monday

Celluloid Film (link)
Fight Club (1999, David Fincher)
Friday

Classic Matinees (link)
The Maltese Falcon (1941, John Huston)
Saturday & Monday

Make It Musical (link)
Stop Making Sense (1984, Jonathan Demme)
Sunday & Wednesday

Meet Cute (link)
Garden State (2004, Zach Braff)
Tuesday

Dendy Newtown | selected highlights

Bring Her Back (2025, Danny & Michael Philippou)
Daily

Ellis Park (2024, Justin Kurzel)
Daily

Celluloid Dreams (link)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Roman Polanski)
Thursday

Night Shift (link)
Vanishing Point (1971, Richard C. Sarafian)
Daily

Palace Cinemas | selected highlights

The Story of Souleymane (2024, Boris Lojkine)
Member’s Exclusive First Look
Thursday

Bring Her Back (2025, Danny & Michael Philippou)
Daily (except Sunday)

Ellis Park (2024, Justin Kurzel)
Daily

Cult Vault (link)
Heat (1995, Michael Mann)
Monday

Matinee Memories (link)
Forbidden Planet (1956, Fred M. Wilcox)
Saturday