Jafar Panahi Dedicates Lifetime Achievement Award to Wife on Her Birthday

Rome: Celebrated Iranian director Jafar Panahi dedicated his lifetime achievement award at the Rome Film Festival to his wife on her birthday. The award was presented to Panahi, along with his wife Tahere Saeedi and daughter Solmaz Panahi, by Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore.

According to Ansa News Agency, Panahi expressed his happiness to be in Italy, a place that holds significant influence over his career due to its neorealism. He mentioned how films like ‘Bicycle Thieves’ had a profound impact on him, and receiving the award from Giuseppe Tornatore, known for ‘Cinema Paradiso,’ was particularly meaningful.

Panahi, aged 65, announced his dedication of the award to his wife, acknowledging the special occasion of her birthday. He is renowned for his film ‘A Simple Accident,’ which was showcased at the festival and has previously won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The film is also a contender for France’s Oscar.

The director is scheduled to conduct a masterclass open to the public at the Auditorium on Thursday. He revealed his ongoing work on a screenplay that has been a long-term project, aiming to address the theme of war from a human perspective, akin to his approach in ‘A Simple Incident.’ Panahi expressed a sense of urgency in tackling this theme, citing the current global climate as a motivation to explore such topics through his films.