Of course, that time still feels far away. The Iranian regime has recently killed thousands of protesters and sentenced even moderate dissenters to long prison sentences. Panahi’s co-writer Mehdi Mahmoudian was recently jailed after signing a letter objecting to the crackdowns. Panahi, who also signed the letter and has been touring the United States to promote his film, has been sentenced to one year in prison in absentia. His lawyer has said they plan to appeal the sentence. Still, he insists that as soon as Oscar season is over, he will head back home.