The Japan Times - Filmmaker Panahi cheered on return to Iran after Cannes triumph

After being banned from leaving Iran for years, forced to make films underground and enduring spells in prison, Panahi attended the French festival in person and sensationally walked away with the Palme d'Or for his latest movie "It Was Just an Accident".

With some fans concerned that Panahi could face trouble on his return to Iran, he arrived without incident at Tehran's main international airport, named after the founder of the 1979 Islamic revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the early hours of Monday.

He was immediately cheered by supporters waiting in the public area as he descended the escalator from passport control to baggage collection, footage posted by the Dadban legal monitor on social media showed.

One person could be heard shouting "Woman. Life. Freedom!", the slogan of the 2022-2023 protest movement that shook the Iranian authorities.

On exiting, he was greeted by around a dozen supporters who had stayed up to welcome him, according to footage posted on Instagram by the Iranian director Mehdi Naderi and broadcast by the Iran International Channel which is based outside Iran.

Smiling broadly and waving, he was cheered, applauded, hugged and presented with flowers. "Fresh blood in the veins of Iranian independent cinema," wrote Naderi.

- 'Gesture of resistance' -

The warm welcome from fans at the airport contrasted with the lukewarm reaction from Iranian state media and officials to the first time an Iranian filmmaker was awarded the Palme d'Or since "The Taste of Cherry" by the late Abbas Kiarostami in 1997.

While evoked by state media such as the IRNA news agency, Panahi's triumph has received only thin coverage inside Iran and has also sparked a diplomatic row with France.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called his victory "a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression" in a post on X, prompting Tehran to summon France's charge d'affaires to protest the "insulting" comments.

"I am not an art expert, but we believe that artistic events and art in general should not be exploited to pursue political objectives," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

The film is politically-charged, showing five Iranians confronting a man they believe tortured them in prison, a story inspired by Panahi's own time in detention.

After winning the prize, Panahi also made a resounding call for freedom in Iran. "Let's set aside all problems, all differences. What matters most right now is our country and the freedom of our country."

T.Ikeda--JT