Newspaper Page Text
2A Thursday, December 22, 2022
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
An Iranian masterwork opens
with its director behind bars
BY JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer
NEW YORK — After being arrested for
creating antigovernment propaganda in
2010, the Iranian director Jafar Panahi was
banned from making films for 20 years.
Since then, he’s made five widely acclaimed
features.
His latest, “No Bears,” opens soon in U.S.
theaters while Panahi is in prison.
In July, Panahi went to the Tehran pros
ecutor’s office to inquire about the arrest
of Mohammad Rasoulof, a filmmaker
detained in the government’s crackdown on
protests. Panahi himself was arrested and,
on a decade-old charge, sentenced to six
years in jail.
Panahi’s films, made in Iran without gov
ernment approval, are sly feats of artistic
resistance. He plays himself in meta self
portraitures that clandestinely capture the
mechanics of Iranian society with a human
ity both playful and devastating. Panahi
made “This is Not a Film” in his apartment.
“Taxi” was shot almost entirely inside a car,
with a smiling Panahi playing the driver and
picking up passengers along the way.
In “No Bears,” Panahi plays a fictional
ized version of himself while making a film
in a rural town along the Iran-Turkey bor
der. It’s one of the most acclaimed films
of the year. The New York Times and The
Associated Press named it one of the top 10
films of the year. Film critic Justin Chang of
The Los Angeles Times called “No Bears”
2022’s best movie.
“No Bears” is landing at a time when the
Iranian film community is increasingly
ensnarled in a harsh government crack
down. A week after “No Bears” premiered
at the Venice Film Festival, with Panahi
already behind bars, 22-year-old Mahsa
Amini died while being held by Iran’s
morality police. Her death sparked three
months of women-led protests, still ongoing,
that have rocked Iran’s theocracy.
More than 500 protesters have been killed
in the crackdown since Sept. 17, accord
ing to the group Human Rights Activists in
Iran. More than 18,200 people have been
Associated Press
This image released by Sideshow and Janus
Films shows a scene from the film “No
Bears.”
detained.
On Saturday, the prominent Iranian
actress Taraneh Alidoosti, star of Asghar
Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “The Salesman,”
was arrested after posting an Instagram
message expressing solidarity with a man
recently executed for crimes allegedly com
mitted during the protests.
In the outcry that followed Alidoosti’s
arrest, Farhadi — the director of “A Separa
tion” and “A Hero” — called for Alidoosti’s
release “alongside that of my other fellow
cineastes Jafar Panahi and Mohammad
Rasoulof and all the other less-known pris
oners whose only crime is the attempt for a
better life.”
“If showing such support is a crime, then
tens of millions of people of this land are
criminals,” Farhadi wrote on Instagram.
Panahi’s absence has been acutely felt
on the world’s top movie stages. At Venice,
where “No Bears” was given a special jury
prize, a red-carpet walkout was staged at the
film’s premiere. Festival director Alberto
Barbera and jury president Julianne Moore
were among the throngs silently protest
ing the imprisonment of Panahi and other
filmmakers.
“No Bears” will also again test a long-
criticized Academy Awards policy. Sub
missions for the Oscars’ best international
film category are made only by a country’s
government. Critics have said that allows
authoritative regimes to dictate which films
compete for the sought-after prize.
EVENTS
No School Nature Day. 10 a.m. to noon.
Dec. 22, 28. Elachee Nature Science
Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville.
770-535-1976. $10.
In Full Bloom. 1-3 p.m. Dec. 22. Elachee
Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee
Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $10.
Holly Jolly Trolley Tours. 5:30-10 p.m. Dec.
22-24, 29-31. Wilshire Wonderland of
Lights, 849 Wilshire Road, Gainesville.
770-531 -5500, lshubert@gainesvillega.
gov. Free.
Christmas Eve Candlelight at Free Chapel.
4-5:30 p.m., 6-7:30 p.m. Dec. 24. Free
Chapel Gainesville, 3001 McEver Road,
Gainesville, nick.coggins@freechapel.
org. Free.
Candlelight Communion Service. 6-7 p.m.
Dec. 24. St. Paul United Methodist
Church, 404 Washington St., Gainesville.
770-532-2977, office@stpaulumcga.com.
Free.
Elachee 2023 First Day Hike. 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. Jan. 1. Elachee Nature Science Cen
ter, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770-
535-1976. Free.
ONGOING
Lanierland Duplicate Bridge Club. 10:30
a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. 3042 McEver Road,
Gainesville, nedcleber@gmail.com.
YogaFit Gentle Yoga. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. every Wednesday. Blackshear Place
Branch Library, 2927 Atlanta Highway,
Gainesville. 770-337-1572, dl9345@bell-
south.net. Free.
Murrayville Library Lego Club. 5-6 p.m.
first Mondays of the month. Murrayville
Library, 4796 Thompson Bridge Road,
Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext. 171;
bhood@hallcountylibrary.org. Free.
Gold Rush Quilting Guild. 10 a.m. to noon
first Wednesdays of the month. Friend
ship Baptist Church, 3513 Westmoreland
Road, Cleveland. alenekempton@gmail.
com.
Turning Leaves Book Club. 11:30 a.m. to
1 p.m. first Wednesdays of the month.
Linwood Nature Preserve Ecology Center,
118 Springview Drive, Gainesville. 770-
535-8293, karin.hicks@uga.edu.
Card workshop. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. first Sat
urdays of the month. Hall County Library
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System, Gainesville branch, 127 Main St.
NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext. 4011,
gkoecher@hallcountylibrary.org.
Ekphrasis for the Masses. Noon to 1 p.m.
second Tuesdays of the month. Quinlan
Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE,
Gainesville. 770-536-2575, info@qvac.org.
Free.
War Stories Book Club. 4-5 p.m. second
Thursdays of the month. Murrayville
Branch Library, 4796 Thompson Bridge
Road, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext. 171.
Free.
Discovery Saturdays. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. sec
ond Saturdays of the month. Elachee Na
ture Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive,
Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $3 - $5.
Georgia Cross Stitchers. 10 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. second Saturdays of the month.
Hall County Library System, Gainesville
Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-
532-3311 ext. 4011; gkoecher@hallcoun-
tylibrary.org. Free.
Homeschool Day. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. third
Thursdays of the month. Elachee Nature
Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive,
Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $15.
Gainesville Lacers. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. third
Saturdays of the month. Hall County Li
brary System, Gainesville branch, 127
Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311,
gkoecher@hallcountylibrary.org.
Tea with Jane Austen: A Reading Group.
3-4 p.m. fourth Fridays of the month.
Hall County Library System, Gainesville
Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-
532-3311 ext. 4011, gkoecher@hallcoun-
tylibrary.org. Free.
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© 2022, Vol. 75, No. 254
December 22,2022
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TODAY IN HISTORY
EVAN VUCCII Associated Press
President Barack Obama stands after signing “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal legislation that
would allow gays to serve openly in the military, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010.
On this date:
In 1858, opera composer Giacomo Puccini
was born in Lucca, Italy.
In 1894, French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was
convicted of treason in a court-martial that
triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism.
(Dreyfus was eventually vindicated.)
In 1941, British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill arrived in Washington for a wartime
conference with President Franklin D. Roos
evelt.
In 1984, New York City resident Bernhard
Goetz shot and wounded four youths on a
Manhattan subway, claiming they were about
to rob him.
In 1989, Romanian President Nicolae Ceaus-
escu, the last of Eastern Europe’s hard-line
Communist rulers, was toppled from power in
a popular uprising.
In 1990, Lech Walesa took the oath of office as
Poland’s first popularly elected president.
In 1992, a Libyan Boeing 727 jetliner crashed
after a midair collision with a MiG fighter, kill
ing all 157 aboard the jetliner, and both crew
members of the fighter jet.
In 1995, actor Butterfly McQueen, who’d
played the scatterbrained slave Prissy in
“Gone with the Wind,” died in Augusta, Geor
gia, at age 84.
In 2001, Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an
American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami,
tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but
was subdued by flight attendants and fellow
passengers. (Reid is serving a life sentence in
federal prison.)
In 2003, a federal judge ruled the Pentagon
couldn’t enforce mandatory anthrax vaccina
tions for military personnel.
In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a
law allowing gays for the first time in history to
serve openly in America’s military, repealing
the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
In 2020, President Donald Trump unexpectedly
released two videos, one falsely declaring that
he had won the election in a “landslide,” and
the other urging lawmakers to increase direct
payments for most individuals to $2,000 in a
COVID relief package, a move opposed by
most Republicans.
ENTERTAINMENT
Chicago Artist
Chance the
Rapper brings
a free music
festival to Ghana
LOS ANGELES — When Chance the
Rapper visited West Africa earlier this
year, he initially thought his trip with fellow
Chicago hip-hop artist Vic Mensa would be
just another vacation getaway.
Instead, the Grammy winner connected
with Mensa’s father’s family in Ghana and
other natives from the Motherland on a
deeper level. He saw Ghana’s beautiful
ocean coastline and waterfalls, engulfed
himself in the musical culture and art scene
and learned more about the country’s rich
history of being the first sub-Saharan Afri
can country to free itself from colonialism.
After a couple more trips to Ghana,
Chance decided to create a free concert
series and visual arts show so others could
experience the country’s vibrant culture
just like he did. During the summer, Chance
and Mensa brought eight students from Chi-
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Hector Elizondo is 86. Country singer Red
Steagall is 84. Former World Bank Group Presi
dent Paul Wolfowitz is 79. Baseball Hall of Famer
Steve Cartton is 78. Former ABC News anchor
Diane Sawyer is 77. Rock singer-musician Rick
Nielsen (Cheap Trick) is 74. Rock singer-musician
Michael Bacon is 74. Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey
is 74. Golfer Jan Stephenson is 71. Actor BemNa-
dette Stanis is 69. Rapper Luther “Luke” Campbell
is 62. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 60. Actor Lauralee Bell
is 54. Country singer Lori McKenna is 54. Actor
Dina Meyer is 54. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is 52.
Actor Heather Donahue is 49. Actor Chris Carmack
is 42. Actor Harry Ford is 40. Actor Greg Finley is
38. Actor Logan Huffman is 33. R&B singer Jordin
Sparks is 33. Pop singer MeghanIfrainor is 29.
cago to Ghana to learn more about Africa.
The weeklong festival will feature events,
panel discussions and a free concert on Jan.
6 with performances by Chance, Mensa,
Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Jeremih, Sarkodie,
Tobe Nwigwe, Asakaa Boys and M.anifest.
The event will be held in Accra’s Black
Star Square, a monument to the political
freedom that was won by Ghanaians in
1957. The festival’s title was inspired by civil
rights leader Marcus Garvey’s Black Star
Line, which was founded in 1919 and oper
ated by Black people who helped link global
shipping and tourism opportunities between
America, the Caribbean and Africa.
Associated Press