Jafar Panahi Urges Academy to Break Government Stranglehold on International Oscar Submissions

Fresh off France’s decision to submit his Cannes-winning “It Was Just an Accident” for Oscar consideration, Jafar Panahi leveraged his appearance at a Busan International Film Festival press conference to advocate for fundamental reform in how the Academy handles international feature submissions.

The filmmaker, who received BIFF’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year honor, argued that the current system forces directors in non-democratic nations to depend on government approval for Oscar eligibility — a barrier that doesn’t exist for other major film festivals.

“We have a slight problem with the Academy and its international section,” said Panahi, whose film is screening in Busan’s Gala Presentations section. “The Academy does not have a specific program for us. When making films, we can send them to international festivals and don’t have the problem of getting an official permit from Iran. But when it comes to the Academy, we need to get permission from our own government.”

His Persian-language thriller secured France’s Oscar slot through its co-production with Les Films Pelléas and distribution deal with Memento.

Panahi stressed the issue affects multiple nations beyond Iran, describing them as “closed countries” where independent filmmakers face government obstacles.

“I think the Academy should find a way to not tie the filmmakers to their governments,” Panahi said. “All filmmakers who are independent must get together and find a way so that when they want to submit their films to the Academy, they don’t face this kind of problem with the government in their own country.”

Iran’s official committee chose Ali Zarnegar’s “Cause of Death: Unknown” as the country’s Oscar entry.