Kino Lorber has acquired all North American rights to Jafar Panahi‘s “Taxi” on the heels of the film winning the Golden Bear and the Fipresci International Critic’s Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
Kino Lorber will release the film theatrically in the fall.
“Taxi” is set on streets of Tehran as a cabdriver — played by Panahi — picks up a diverse group of passengers who each candidly express their opinions and worldview.
Richard Lorber, CEO of Kino Lorber, said, “Jafar Panahi is simply one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. ‘Taxi’ proves this yet again and more so, showing how film can be a work of art and a potent political instrument of change, and all the better for provoking audience delight.”
Panahi’s debut “The White Balloon” won the Caméra d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the first major award won by an Iranian film at Cannes. He received the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival for “The Mirror” in 1997, the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for “The Circle” and the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin Film Festival for “Offside” in 2006.
Panahi was sentenced to a six-year jail sentence in 2010 and a 20-year ban on directing any movies, writing screenplays, giving any form of interview with Iranian or foreign media, or from leaving the country except for medical treatment or going to Hajj pilgrimage. While awaiting the result of an appeal, he made “This Is Not a Film,” “Closed Curtain” — which won the Silver Bear for Best Script at Berlin — and “Taxi.”
