In the middle of the controversy and court appeal , Panahi broke the ban imposed on him from making films and made the documentary feature '' This Is Not a Film '' ( 2011 ) in collaboration with Iranian filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb . The film was made for € 3,200 and shot on a digital camcorder and an iPhone . It was shot in four days over a ten-day period in March 2011 and its title was inspired by René Magritte 's painting '' The Treachery of Images '' . In the film Panahi sits in his apartment making phone calls about his court case , watching TV news stories , interacting with his neighbors , talking about his past films and describing scenes from the film that he had begun shooting when he was arrested ( much as he had described scenes from films to his sisters as a child ) . Ten days before the opening of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival , '' This Is Not a Film '' was announced as a surprise entry into the festival . It was smuggled out of Iran on a USB thumb drive that had been hidden inside a cake . Panahi 's wife and daughter attended the festival . In December 2012 it was shortlisted as one of 15 films eligible for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards
2011 Cannes Film Festival
2011 Cannes Film Festival
Jafar Panahi