There’s something very Alty-Film-Cluby about a movie with lines like “Law and sharia have spoken… so chill out, lady” and features acting turns by the likes of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh . And so it is that we bring Taxi Tehran to The Cinnamon Club on Thursday 31st March – bar open at 7.30, short at 8pm and main feature around 8.30.
A taxi driver is driving through the vibrant streets of Tehran. Diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. Banned from travelling and making films in 2010, Jafar Panahi has managed to astonish us with his beautiful trilogy composed of This is not a Film (2011), Closed Curtain (2013) and now Taxi Tehran, winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
“Taxi Tehran,” offers, in its unassuming way, one of the most captivating cinematic experiences of this year. Like Mr. Panahi’s cab, his film is equipped with both windows and mirrors. It’s reflective and revealing, intimate and wide-ranging, compact and moving.” New York Times, Oct 2015