Pushing the Limits ëCrimson Goldí Director Jafar Panahi Is Artist of Principle by Ky N. Nguyen Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahiís thriller "Crimson Gold" opens at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge on Feb. 6. His directorial debut, "The White Balloon," was a critical and box office hit worldwideówinning the Camera díOr (Best First Film) at Cannes. His follow-up, "The Mirror," was also well regarded (Golden Leopard at Locarno) but scarcely seen in the United States. His third film, "The Circle," captured the Golden Lion at Venice and commercial success, although it was banned in Iran. During his last visit to Washington, D.C., Encyclopedia Iranica feted him at the Four Seasons Hotel. Dressed neatly in a sweater and slacks, Panahi met me beforehand in the corner of a noisy tearoom. At the end of a long day, Panahi responded to questions with thoughtfully intelligent answers. Commenting on his body of work, he said, "The characters are striving to get what they want and get past the limitations that theyíre subject to. The same problems that these characters are facing, the artists also are facing. We live in the same social context, and we experience those kinds of problems as well. When the notion of limitations exists in a society, it affects every member of society." Panahi produced "Crimson Gold" and "The Circle" independently, affording him certain freedoms that he didnít have with government sponsorship. "[Suppose] they told me that I need to cut some scenes out of the film. I might have agreed to it, thinking that itís not my own money. But now I have the control, and I can tell them, ëNo, Iím not going to touch the film.í" Panahi noted, "Even 10 years ago, we had situations in Iran where a film is made in an unconventional wayóa film which is a little more daring than the othersóso that always has happened. Thirty years ago, a film called ëThe Cowí [by Dariush Mehrjui] was made in Iran. It had the same problems in terms of censorship, and weíve had several other examples since." The director apprenticed under pre-eminent Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami (who wrote "Crimson Gold"). "I had been an assistant director to some other filmmakers before I accepted the same role in ëThrough the Olive Trees,í" Panahi explained. "What has struck me about Mr. Kiarostamiís work is the degree to which he was so meticulous about the details. He wouldnít leave anything really uncared for. With every little element in the film, he would pay a lot of attention to [it]." Panahi said that he hadnít seen any films for five years. "As a filmmaker, I tend to be concerned with the ideas that I have and their originality. What if I see a film, and I see another filmmaker has an idea similar to that? That would discourage me in terms of abandoning my own idea. This way, Iím in a sense protecting myself and my own ideas by not exposing myself to other peopleís ideas." Previously, Panahi watched a wide variety of Western cinema. "When I was a student, I used to like the works of people like Hitchcock, Ford, Truffaut, GodardÖ. There was another phase in my life when I absolutely fell in love with Italian Neorealism. I consider ëThe Bicycle Thiefí to be a masterpiece. Due to my age and the way I felt at any given time, I would tend to like a particular film or a particular genre. If I said that I havenít seen a movie for five years, thatís a byproduct of the kind of times and the kind of personal situation that I was in. Maybe if you saw me next year, I would tell you that Iím fully back into watching movies." However, that is now unlikely to happen in the United States. In April 2001, Panahi left a festival in Hong Kong to fly to another one in Buenos Aires. Changing planes at New Yorkís John F. Kennedy Airport, he was asked for a transit visa despite the airlineís previous assurances that one was not required. Panahi refused the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Serviceís (INS) demand to be fingerprinted and photographed. During previous visits to the United States, Panahi had obtained waiversócontinuing a longstanding unwillingness to be treated like a criminal in a country where he has been invited by distinguished cultural institutions. INS then detained Panahi for hours before deporting him to Hong Kong. In an open letter to the U.S. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Panahi returned the Freedom of Expression award given to him for "The Circle." Panahi wrote, "Perhaps, audiences would understand my film better if they could know the director of the film was chained at the same time. They would accept my belief that circles of human limits exist in all parts of this world, but in different ratios." Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.