Voice of Protest

While Jafar Panahi seems to have adopted rebellion as his middle name,his sudden detention by the Iran government has once again put a question mark on the freedom of creative expression across the world. The Iranian filmmaker was arrested from his home,along with his family and 15 guests by the police and detained with unspecified charges. Kolkata too has joined worldwide protests,led by students of the film studies department in the Jadavpur University. The students have organized a film festival today,at the Vivekananda Hall in JU to voice their dissent and question the legitimacy of Panahi’s detention. While the filmmaker openly supported the Opposition,intellectuals and film lovers argue that any individual is entitled to freedom and choice,tolerance for which seems to be alarmingly decreasing in governmental politics across the world.

“We don’t subscribe to any political view. But we want to question where freedom of expression stands in this political milieu. We read that the Iran government has said that Panahi was planning to make a film which was anti-regime. So,can the people in power play around with a person’s democratic rights on such flimsy grounds?” says Sanchari De,first year student of the film studies department and one of the organizers. Three films — The White Balloon (1995),Offside (2006) and Crimson Gold (2003) — will be screened in the university premises and the screening will be free for all.