Here’s a look at Iranian filmmaker and Cannes 2025 Palme d’Or winner Jafar Panahi’s seven best films. (Compiled by Ananya Aneesh)
In an attempt to buy a fat goldfish, Razieh sets off on a journey through the streets of Tehran on the eve of the Iranian New Year. Co-written by Abbas Kiarostami, it won the Prix de la Camera d'Or at Cannes.
The Iranian government banned Panahi from making films; he acted as a taxi driver to document the social issues in Iran. It won the Golden Bear at BIFF and the FIPRESCI prize.
This feminist film shows the reality of Iranian women in a country that bars them from entering stadiums. Banned in Iran, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at BIFF.
Interlinked stories of women who face the harsh realities of life in Iran. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
A pizza deliveryman surrounded by the worst of poverty and corruption, spirals into crime after tasting luxury. The film was never distributed in Iranian theatres, but it won a Cannes Jury Prize.
When a young girl is lost in the city of Tehran, her journey becomes a blend of fiction and reality. The film won the Golden Tulip at the Istanbul Film Festival.
Shot during Panahi’s house arrest, it shows the struggles of a contemporary filmmaker and censorship in Iran. The film was smuggled from Iran to Cannes on a flash drive.