France announced on Wednesday that “It Was Just an Accident,” an award-winning film made in Iran by an Iranian director, will be its selection for best international feature at the Oscars. The unconventional choice is a result of the nature of international production and the rules set by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Each country may submit only one film for consideration, a selection process that has long frustrated acclaimed filmmakers working under authoritarian regimes.
In a recent interview at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, Jafar Panahi, the director of “It Was Just an Accident,” said the academy was “working in favor of governments that want to limit their filmmakers.”
“In countries that are nondemocratic, the choosing, the selection and the announcement to the Oscars is a job for the government,” Panahi said through an interpreter. He added that those selection committees omit anything they view as critical of the authorities.
Filmmakers who want to make a movie through the official channels in Iran must submit their script to the government. It often asks for changes, and in many cases will not allow filming at all.
Panahi did not ask for permission to make “It Was Just an Accident,” a road trip revenge thriller about the ramifications of torture. He used hidden cameras and very small crews to shoot in the streets of Tehran. It was another risky production for Panahi, who has been jailed twice in his home country for his filmmaking.
“Then we come outside Iran, we see that the academy is telling us exactly the same thing: Now go and get the permission of the government,” said Panahi, adding that other countries like China face similar hurdles. “There has to be a change in favor of all countries.”
“It Was Just an Accident” won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It was eligible to be France’s selection for best international feature because it was cofinanced by a French production company, some of the crew was French, postproduction took place in France and Panahi is a French resident. The academy will announce the category’s five nominees in January.
Last year, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” an exploration of Iran’s authoritarian government, was nominated for best international feature after being submitted by Germany.
Mark Johnson, a producer who oversaw the international feature category for 17 years, said the selection process was “a flawed system.”
“We never could figure out how to do it better,” he said. “What do we know? Are we going to question everybody involved? In some cases there was clearly some manipulation but it’s not up to the academy to go into the committee and say, ‘OK, you’re not legitimate. You’re not really an actor. You haven’t directed a movie in 20 years, and you’re being paid.’”
Panahi said that the Iranian government announced last month that the House of Cinema, an academy of artists, would be allowed to pick this year’s entry for best international feature. Yet days later, he said, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance reversed its decision and reinstated the Farabi Cinema Foundation, which has been selecting Iran’s entry for the past 40 years.
To Panahi and others, the Farabi Cinema Foundation is more interested in trying to control what is said about Iran than promoting strong filmmaking. Jamsheed Akrami, a scholar of Iranian cinema and professor emeritus at William Paterson University, said it was “one of several agencies in Iran that keep very tight control over Iranian cinema.”
The academy disagrees with those assertions.
“We do not work with governments as part of this process,” said Meredith Shea, the group’s chief membership, impact and industry officer. “It is a group of artists and filmmakers that review the films. They need to submit the members of their selection committees to us so we ensure that these are filmmakers and artists that are selecting the films.”
Two international films have been nominated for best picture in each of the past three years, a sign of the international makeup of the academy, which now comprises more than 20 percent of total membership.
Days before “It Was Just an Accident” won the top Cannes prize, it was acquired by Neon, the studio behind “Anora,” last year’s best picture winner. Rolling Stone called the Iranian film “an extraordinary revenge parable.”
Still, the Farabi Cinema Foundation did not include it on the five-movie short list it announced last week.
“There’s no chance for that movie to be allowed by this Farabi Cinema Foundation,” Akrami said. “To them, there are two red lines Jafar’s movie is crossing. One is not going through the proper channels to get the permission. Two, the women appear without the mandatory hijab.”
Thanks to France, Panahi’s film will still be considered in the best international feature category. But that is little comfort to cinephiles in Iran.
“These movies are national treasures for Iranians,” Akrami said. “They would love to see an Iranian film winning an Oscar. Why should this process be depriving the Iranians from this kind of honor?”
Nicole Sperling covers Hollywood and the streaming industry. She has been a reporter for more than two decades.
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