Taxi

Jafar Panahi directs and appears as himself in Taxi, a film in which he drives a yellow cab through the streets of Tehran. A camera mounted on the dashboard turns the car into a small mobile studio, and a series of passengers climb in and out over the course of a single day. Through their conversations with the driver, the film observes everyday life in Iranian society, moving between humorous and serious moments as the riders speak about what occupies them. Panahi plays the driver, and the passengers include Hana Saeidi and Nasrin Sotoudeh.

The film was written, produced and directed by Panahi, released in 2015 between Persian Carpet and No Bears in his filmography. It runs 81 minutes and blends comedy and drama. Its commercial reach was modest by international standards, with a worldwide box office of roughly 4 million dollars, a figure that reflects the limited theatrical distribution such a film typically receives rather than its reputation. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from about 18,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 from roughly 500 votes, showing solid approval from viewers. A film critics' rating of 8.5 from 113 reviews places professional assessment noticeably higher than the audience scores.