12 People Who Totally Broke The Law To Make Great Movies

3. Jafar Panahi Smuggled Anti-Governmental Propaganda Out Of Iran In A Cake

Sadly, when laws are set by tyrannical leaders with no idea of what progress means they're still classed as laws as long as the law-maker stays in power. So the drastic Iranian censorship laws that sought to silence documentary film-maker Jafar Panahi and send him to prison for six years for "propaganda against the regime" were still legally binding, strictly speaking.

Stagnating under house arrest, Panahi documented his life, despite being the subject of a 26 year film-making ban, in order to save at least some of his artistic visions. He reads segments of a planned film, and reflects on what his life has become, offering a glimpse into the fear he lives in constantly thanks to his political activism.

Not content with flouting his film-making ban, the director also risked the ire of his nation's government by smuggling the film from Iran to Cannes on a data stick hidden inside a birthday cake. A final, glorious two finger salute to his oppressors.