No Bears

A film by the blacklisted Iranian director Jafar Panahi (A Simple Accident), in which he once again turns his own persecution by the authorities into sharp, subtle, and perceptive cinema about creativity and life under the pressure of censorship.

Panahi plays a version of himself — a filmmaker banned from leaving Iran and from working officially — who rents a room in a village on the Turkish border in order to remotely direct a film about a couple dreaming of escaping the country. Through a nonlinear, nested narrative that includes filmmaking within filmmaking as well as events unfolding in the village itself, the director confronts the force of tradition, superstition, moral codes, and those in power who seek to control the lives of others.

In No Bears, we encounter multiple intersecting stories about prohibitions, fears, and fantasies — about how “bears,” whether real or imagined, hold people captive. The title becomes a metaphor: more often than not, it is imagined fear that prevents people from breathing freely, whether in art or in love.

☝️ This week, under the “Iranian Cinema” section, we’ve gathered several films that impressed us the most and help shed light on what has been happening in the country in recent years.