"No One Can Stop the Movie"... Iranian Master Panahi, 3-Time Winner at the Gosham Awards 'Miracle'

Despite the ongoing repression from the Iranian government, the master, director Jafar Panahi, has not backed down and has swept the Gosham Awards, the largest festival in the American independent film scene.

According to foreign media such as AP and The New York Times on the 2nd (local time), director Panahi won the major three categories of Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film at the 35th Gosham Awards held in New York with his new work 〈It Was Just an Accident〉(Original title: It Was Just an Accident).

Although the highest honor, Best Picture, went to Paul Thomas Anderson's 〈One Battle After Another〉, local media praised, "The true protagonist of the year is Panahi, who secretly crafted a masterpiece while avoiding censorship."

With this work, director Panahi won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, joining the ranks of masters who have won the top awards at the three major film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin). He previously won the Golden Lion at Venice in 2000 with 〈The Circle〉 and the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2015 with 〈Taxi〉.

When he received the 'Asian Film Person of the Year' award at the Busan International Film Festival last September, he left a deep impression on global film fans by stating, "No one can stop film production. Filmmakers will always find a way."

Currently, director Panahi's situation is not easy. Recently, an Iranian court sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban for 'propaganda activities'. However, he is taking risks to stay in the U.S. and promote his film.

The New York Times predicted, "With this 3-time win at the Gosham Awards, the possibility of director Panahi entering the Oscars next year has greatly increased." Additionally, the newspaper observed that he has a chance of winning not only in the most likely International Feature Film category but also in the Best Director and Best Picture categories.

It is reported that director Panahi's works could not be submitted for the Academy Award for International Feature Film due to the regulation that films must be approved by the authorities of the country where they were produced. However, 〈It Was Just an Accident〉 was co-produced with France and was submitted to the Academy as the French representative.

Accordingly, at the Academy Awards ceremony in March next year, it is expected that director Park Chan-wook's 〈No Other Choice〉 and director Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' will compete fiercely for the trophy as the Korean representative work.