Jafar Panahi’s Taxi won Berlin’s prestigious Golden Bear earlier this year and the FIPRESCI International Critic’s Prize last week, and now Kino Lorber announced today it has acquired all North American rights to the film. It will be released theatrically in the fall.
In the film, Panahi himself drives through Tehran with a camera set on the dashboard of a yellow cab and interviews the diverse characters that make up his fares.
Panahi achieved international recognition with his feature film debut, The White Balloon, which won the Caméra d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the first major award won by an Iranian film at Cannes. Although his films were often banned in his own country, he continued to receive international acclaim from film theorists and critics and won numerous awards, including the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival for The Mirror (1997), the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for The Circle (2000), and the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival for Offside (2006). His films are known for their humanistic perspective on life in Iran, often focusing on the hardships of children, the impoverished, and women.
The deal was negotiated by Richard Lorber, CEO of Kino Lorber with Hengameh Panahi, President of Celluloid Dreams on behalf of the filmmaker. (Source)