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