Overview

• New York Film Festival canceled an Oct. 3 conversation between Jafar Panahi and Martin Scorsese after the director could not travel.
• Festival organizers attributed the missed Oct. 2 premiere to visa processing delays linked to the federal shutdown that began Sept. 30.
• The film, made in secret following Panahi’s 2023 incarceration, won Cannes’ top prize and is France’s official Academy Awards submission.
• French producers attended the NYFF screening, and artistic director Dennis Lim paid tribute to Panahi during his introduction.
• Organizers said they hope Panahi may still arrive in the U.S. before the film’s Oct. 15 theatrical opening.