Berlin festival shows Iranian dissident's new film

He added that he didn't know what, if any, consequences making the film might have.

"Nothing has happened up to now," he said. But "we don't know what the future holds in store for us."

"Closed Curtain" contrasts with earlier Panahi films such as the exuberant "Offside," a movie following girls who disguise themselves as boys to sneak into a football match in Tehran. It won Berlin's runner-up Silver Bear in 2006.

The new movie follows "This Is Not A Film," a 2011 documentary that Panahi made in his Tehran apartment, where he was under house arrest.

That reflects his predicament, Partovi said. "If he's no longer allowed to speak about others and other people's lives, then he has to talk about himself."