Jafar Panahi plays himself in his latest film, a witty and resounding act of artistic and political expression that centres on two pairs of lovers.

Panahi has spent over a decade in and out of prison or under house arrest in Iran, after being banned from filmmaking by the government. His lovingly crafted latest film comes at a time when he is imprisoned again - he was sentenced this summer for his support of a fellow artist's independence.

In two clever, parallel love stories, Panahi plays a version of himself trying to remotely direct a film from an Iranian village close to the Turkish border, but soon finds himself under suspicious eyes from the local residents unnerved by his presence...

Arguably the filmmaker's richest and most complex work to date, No Bears is a powerful statement of tenacity and defiance from a director who cannot be silenced.

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