Jafar Panahi is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and one of the most influential in the new wave movement in Iran. His first feature film, White Balloon, 1995, won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His second film, The Mirror, received the Golden Leopard Award at the Locarno Film Festival, The Circle, 2000, won the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival and Crimson Gold, 2003, brought him the Un Certain Regard Jury Award at Cannes. Banned in Iran, Panahi’s Offside was awarded with the prestigious Silver Bear and The Jury Grand Prix, Berlin, 2006.