Dissident Iranian director wins top prize in Berlin

Jafar Panahi, who was convicted in 2010 of ‘making propaganda,’ wins Golden Bear prize in absentia for his film ‘Taxi’

BERLIN (AP) — Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi’s movie “Taxi,” which starred the director as a taxi driver talking to passengers in the streets of Tehran, won the top Golden Bear prize Saturday at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Panahi has been unable to leave Iran after his 2010 conviction on charges of “making propaganda” against the country’s ruling system. Authorities imposed a 20-year filmmaking ban on Panahi, but he has continued to make movies.

“Instead of allowing his spirit to be crushed and giving up, instead of allowing himself to be filled with anger and frustration, Jafar Panahi created a love letter to cinema,” said the Berlin jury president, American director Darren Aronofsky. “His film is filled with love for his art, his community, his country and his audience.”

The grand jury prize, which comes with a runner-up Silver Bear, went to Chilean director Pablo Larrain’s movie “The Club.” That film focuses on a group of Roman Catholic priests who have committed crimes or dishonored the church and have been rehoused in a small town by the sea.

The best actor and best actress awards went to Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling, who play a couple in British director Andrew Haigh’s drama “45 Years.”