Berlinale unspools Panahi film

"This Is Not a Film"BERLIN -- The Berlin Film Festival continues its support of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who is facing six years in prison after a Tehran appeals court upheld the sentence earlier this month. In a further show of solidarity with Panahi and other jailed filmmakers, the Berlinale is joining the German Film Academy and Berlin public radio station Radioeins to honor Panahi with a screening of his latest film, "This Is Not a Film," on Nov. 9 at the KulturBrauerei in Berlin as "a form of public protest and recognition for the courage of these Iranian filmmakers who continue their work despite constant danger." Co-directed by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb -- who was arrested in September -- the film shows a day in the life of Panahi as he waits for months under house arrest for the outcome of his appeal, eating breakfast, phoning his lawyer, chatting with the building's maintenance man and even enacting roles of a planned film that he has been prohibited from making. "'This Is Not a Film' is the defiance of a director who cannot desist from making films and presents the atrociousness of being banned from his profession without any self-pity whatsoever," the Berlinale said. "Convicting artists and banning them from their professions violates human rights, freedom of opinion and expression in the arts," added Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick. "We sharply condemn such infringements and want to demonstrate our solidarity with this screening." In September, Mirtahmasb and fellow Iranian filmmakers and actors Katayoon Shahabi, Hadi Afarideh, Naser Safarian, Shahnam Bazdar and Mohsen Shahrnazdar were also arrested as part of the Tehran government's draconian crackdown on critics of the Islamic regime. In December 2010 Panahi and fellow director Mohammad Rasoulof were charged with spreading "propaganda against the system," and sentenced to six years in prison and banned from making films and travelling for the next 20 years. At this year's Berlinale the fest expressed its support, calling attention to the plight of Panahi, and other Iranian filmmakers with a number of initiatives. It also invited Panahi to serve on the Berlinale's international jury -- something the director was unable to do due to his arrest. Moved by his plight, the German Film Academy has launched the project "Filmmakers in Prison" to support politically persecuted filmmakers. Contact Ed Meza at staff@variety.com