The International Film Festival Rotterdam protests against the arrest and detainment of film-maker and producer Jafar Panahi, his wife and daughter and several of his cooperators and guests, in Tehran on Monday 1 March.
One of the most influential masters of the Iranian New Wave, Mr. Panahi is a regular guest of the festival and was a member of the Tiger Awards Jury in 2008.
Jafar Panahi won the Caméra d'Or in Cannes for the best film début with The White Balloon and he won the Golden Lion in Venice with The Circle (2000). Offside was awarded the Silver Bear and The Jury Grand Prix at the Berlinale in 2006. Panahi’s films are socially conscious and show a great insight in class differences, the position of minorities and the position of women in Iran. They are, above all, wonderful works of art.