Jump to content

No Bears

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by The Ocean (talk | contribs) at 01:38, 12 November 2022 (→top). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

No Bears
Release poster
Persianخرس نیست
LiterallyThere are no bears
Directed byJafar Panahi
Written byJafar Panahi
Produced byJafar Panahi
Starring
Edited byAmir Etminan
Distributed byCelluloid Dreams
Release date
  • 9 September 2022 (2022-09-09) (Venice)
Running time
107 minutes[1]:4
CountryIran
Languages
  • Persian
  • Azerbaijani
  • Turkish

No Bears (Persian: خرس نیست, romanized: Khers Nist, lit. 'There are no bears') is a 2022 Iranian drama film written, directed and produced by Jafar Panahi. The film was shot secretly in Iran and stars Panahi, Naser Hashemi [fa], Vahid Mobasri, Bakhtiar Panjei and Mina Kavani. It wrapped production in May 2022 and is distributed by Celluloid Dreams.

No Bears premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion, without the presence of the director, who has been arrested and sentenced to 6 years prison in Iran, prior to the film's release.[2] It won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022,[3] and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Premise

The film portrays "two parallel love stories in which the lovers struggle with hidden and unavoidable obstacles, the force of superstitions and the mechanics of power".[4][1]

Cast

  • Jafar Panahi as himself
  • Naser Hashemi [fa] as Village Chief
  • Vahid Mobaseri as Ghanbar
  • Bakhtiar Panjei as Bakhtiar
  • Mina Kavani as Zara
  • Narjes Delaram as Ghanbar’s Mother
  • Reza Heydari as Reza
  • Javad Siyahi as Jacob
  • Yousef Soleymani as Jacob’s Uncle
  • Amir Davar as Solduz
  • Darya Alei as Gozal
  • Rahim Abbasi as Villager
  • Sinan Yusufoglu as Sinan
  • Ehsan Ahmad Khanpour as Kid
  • Iman Bazyar as Soldier

Production

Jafar Panahi, writer, director and producer of No Bears, has been arrested and sentenced to 6 years in prison prior to the film's release in July 2022.

No Bears is the ninth feature film directed by Jafar Panahi and the first film after 3 Faces (2018).[5] This filmmaker had made two short films in between. In addition to writing, directing and producing No Bears, Panahi also stars in the film with Naser Hashemi [fa], Vahid Mobasri, Bakhtiar Panjei, Mina Khosravani, and others.[1][5] Panahi is said to have received more freedom to produce the film after the end of the curfew imposed in 2022, due to the spread of Covid-19 in Iran.[4]

Production wrapped in May 2022,[5] and the rights were traded shortly after at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival by Paris-based Celluloid Dreams, which had undertaken the same task for the director's previous works.[4]

Director's Arrest

See also: Jafar Panahi § Imprisonment

On July 11, 2022, Panahi has been arrested and sentenced to six years in Evin prison on the charges of "propaganda against the regime".[6] According to himself, after the arrest of his two colleagues, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mustafa Al-Ahmad [fa], he had expressed solidarity along with several hundred other filmmakers over the Internet; they are said to have demonstrated online against the police brutality in Iran.[7]

After No Bears was selected for the Golden Lion competition of the Venice Film Festival, the Ministry of Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran called the film a "political game [rather than a] movie [that] does not have a production license".[8] On July 28, 2022, the Iranian Film Directors Association [fa] issued an official statement congratulating the selected directors for the nomination, and moreover demanding from the Iranian government, to consider "the request of 19 cinema guilds, and hundreds of cinematographers [to] examine the status of these filmmakers, and their release as soon as possible".[9]

It is reported that the 79th Venice Film Festival has been significantly affected by the arrest and trial of Panahi;[10] Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of the said festival, after announcing the list of films in a media event, demanded the release of directors Panahi, Rasoulov and Al-Ahmad.[11] He later called on "all filmmakers and other personalities" to join a flash mob that will take place on the red carpet before the premiere on September 9 at 16:30 at the Palazzo del Cinema, to protest Panahi's arrest and to show solidarity with others from around the world who have faced persecution in the same way.[12][13][14]

Release

No Bears had its world premiere in-competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival for the Golden Lion, on 9 September 2022.[15] Another screening of the film is scheduled for the same month at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.[16]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.30/10.[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]

Accolades

Panahi competed for the Golden Lion, the main prize of the Venice Film Festival for the second time; he first received this award for his movie The Circle (2000).[19] No Bears won the Special Jury Prize with actors Mina Khosravani and Reza Heydari accepting the award in Panahi's absence.[20]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Venice Film Festival 31 August – 10 September 2022 Golden Lion Jafar Panahi ‡ Nominated [21]
Special Jury Prize No Bears Won
Chicago International Film Festival 13–23 October 2022 Award for Cinematic Bravery Won [22]
Gold Hugo Nominated [23]
Valladolid International Film Festival 22–29 October 2022 Golden Spike Nominated [24]
‡ The director is in prison, so he cannot participate in competitions and receive awards.[2][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "NO BEARS (KHERS NIST) A film by JAFAR PANAHI" (PDF). Celluloid Dreams. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Jafar Panahi is third film-maker in a week to be arrested in Iran". The Guardian. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Official Awards of the 79th Venice Film Festival". www.labiennale.org. 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  4. ^ a b c Goodfellow, Melanie (11 May 2022). "Celluloid Dreams to launch Jafar Panahi's new film 'No Bears' at Cannes (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Raup, Jordan (11 May 2022). "Hong Sangsoo and Jafar Panahi Have Finished Shooting Their Next Films". The Film Stage. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Iranischer Filmemacher Panahi muss sechsjährige Haftstrafe antreten" [Iranian filmmaker Panahi has been sentenced to six years in prison]. Tagesschau (in German). 19 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Dissident Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi arrested: media". France 24. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ Mosleh, Ali (28 July 2022). "حضور فیلم‌های ایرانی در جشنواره ونیز و کابوس ادامه‌دار وزارت ارشاد" [The presence of Iranian films in the Venice festival and the ongoing nightmare of the Ministry of Guidance]. Independent Persian (in Persian). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ^ TABNAK | تابناک (28 July 2022). "تبریک کانون کارگردانان سینما به فیلم‌های حاضر در جشنواره ونیز" [Congratulations from the Film Directors Association to the selected films in the Venice Film Festival]. Tabnak (in Persian). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ a b Ghafouri Azar, Babak (28 July 2022). "اهمیت حضور فیلم تازه جعفر پناهی در جشنواره فیلم ونیز" [The importance of the presence of Jafar Panahi's new film at the Venice Film Festival]. Radio Farda (in Persian). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  11. ^ Trabattoni, Alina (27 July 2022). "Venice's Alberto Barbera talks Iranian filmmakers, Netflix relationship and Covid rules for 2022". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  12. ^ Parfitt, Orlando (25 August 2022). "Venice plans red carpet flash mob protest for Jafar Panahi premiere". Screen Daily. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  13. ^ Roxborough, Scott (2022-08-25). "Venice Festival to Hold 'Flash Mob' in Support of Imprisoned Filmmakers in Iran". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  14. ^ Ntim, Zac (2022-08-25). "Venice Film Festival Announces New Solidarity Initiatives For Arrested And Jailed Filmmakers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  15. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2022 | Khers nist (No bears)". La Biennale di Venezia. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  16. ^ "No Bears KHERS NIST". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  17. ^ "No Bears". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 11 November 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  18. ^ "No Bears". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  19. ^ Peter Beaumont; Vanessa Thorpe (23 May 2010). "Jafar Panahi 'may soon be freed'". The Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  20. ^ Rapold, Nicolas (10 September 2022). "'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' Wins Best Film at Venice Film Festival". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 September 2022. The Special Jury prize went to Panahi for "No Bears." His award was accepted by two of the film's actors, Mina Kavani and Reza Heydari, in his absence. The audience gave a standing ovation.
  21. ^ "Venice Film Festival Winners: Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell Take Top Acting Prizes – Updating Live". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  22. ^ "58th Chicago International Film Festival Reveals Award Winners | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  23. ^ Kay, Jeremy. "'No Bears', 'Saint Omer' among Chicago fest international selections (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  24. ^ No Bears (2022), Filmaffinity, retrieved 2022-11-12
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=No_Bears&oldid=1121390762"