JAFAR PANAHI - Director
5/27/20261 hr 6 min
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 195 Jafar Panahi - Director
In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with director Jafar Panahi (IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT, NO BEARS, THE WHITE BALLOON). Growing up amidst poverty in Tehran, Jafar's love for cinema began in childhood and led him to enroll in the film program at university. Unsatisfied with his final student film, he destroyed it, but he reveals to us why and shares how his approach to directing every subsequent film changed for the better. Throughout the episode, we discuss how he actually makes his movies—both as a filmmaker and as a citizen contesting with censorship and an authoritarian government. We discuss the making of THE WHITE BALLOON and THE CIRCLE, and Jafar shares how he attempts to make the events in his films feel as if they really happened. We also learn how and why he brings in non-actors during the casting process, and he reveals how he and his crew try to avoid government raids. We also discuss the making of IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT, which features a return to a more traditional form of storytelling compared with Jafar's preceding films, and he reflects on his period of making films while being banned from filmmaking.
Translation conducted by Sheida Dayani.
This conversation was recorded on February 12, 2026.
If you enjoyed this episode, we recommend listening to our conversation with director Mohammad Rasoulof (Season 2, Episode 121).
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Recommended Viewing: THE WHITE BALLOON, THIS IS NOT A FILM, THE CIRCLE
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This episode is sponsored by Aputure
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[gentle music] Hi, and welcome to season two of the Team Deakins Podcast, a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deakins and a guest. We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes. [gentle music] This episode is sponsored by Aputure and its new Storm XT52, the industry's most powerful LED point source light. Brighter than a 6K HMI and powered by Aputure's revolutionary Blair Light Engine, the Storm XT52 is both a tunable white light and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED. Storm XT52, unrivaled output only from Aputure. [gentle music] We'd like to thank translator Shayda Dayani for her work in making this conversation possible. [gentle music] Today, we're speaking with a director. Despite many obstacles, he's continued to create movies, and we're grateful for that. His credits include this year's It Was Just an Accident, No Bears, and Three Faces. We're pleased to welcome Jafar Panahi. Jafar, thank you for doing this.
Shayda Dayani1:25
Thank you.
Jafar Panahi· Guest1:25
Thank you. Thanks.
Speaker 11:27
[chuckles] We'd like to start with