Juxtaposed between the Persian New Year fireworks outside his window and the unfolding tragedy of the Japanese tsunami on his television, Iranian master filmmaker Jafar Panahi, under house arrest in Tehran, reflects on his pending six-year prison sentence and 20-year ban on making movies. Although Panahi covertly avoids being the filmmaker, the clear danger of the situation necessitated that the coyly titled This Is Not a Film be smuggled out of the country on a hidden zip drive. This in-the-moment diary is tinged with humor but also the very real urgency of a man condemned and an artist silenced. 2011, DCP, 75 minutes.
