Accordion, The

The Accordion, the latest film by renowned Iranian director Jafar Panahi, is about two young street musicians in Tehran, who represent a new generation that prefers solidarity over violence. Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison on 20 December 2010; The judge also banned him from making films, giving interviews and leaving the country for the next twenty years. Panahi was indicted for screening a film that criticized the Iranian regime. In 2007, this highly acclaimed director of The Circle, The White Balloon and Offside, to name but a few, received the Cinema Unlimited Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award for his sharp-witted and charitable works.