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Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
Award-winning director Jafar Panahi (The White Balloon, The Circle) was arrested in 2010 for “making propaganda against the Iranian government,” put under house arrest, and given a 6-year jail sentence and a 20-year ban on making films. Despite the ban, he went on to make This Is Not A Film entirely within his apartment, Closed Curtain in his summer home, and Taxi in a taxi that circles the streets of Tehran with Panahi himself in the driver’s seat. Taxi went on to win the FIRESCI Prize at Berlin: “Our award goes to a film showing great personal and artistic bravery. It is a multilayered tale about everyday life, an original narrative exploration of both human choices and constrained existence. A humane and subtle portrait of a filmmaker and his country, a man and his surroundings and fellow citizens. Above all, this witty, sharp and devious take on freedom of speech encapsulates the struggle of all artists who seek to overcome the restrictions of reality and express their emotions and opinions regardless of censorship or state bans . . .” (Unrated, 82 min.)
Cinema Explorations 2016 is a community-curated winter film series at Railroad Square Cinema. The screenings take place on Saturday and Sunday mornings for six consecutive weekends, starting January 9 & 10. Complimentary bagels will be provided by Bagel Mainea.
Individual tickets cost $8. Railroad Square comp tickets, ten-passes, and Maine Film Center membership benefits may also be used. Tickets may be purchased at the door or online in advance.