The documentary was made while Panahi was under house arrest, waiting to hear the results of his appeal of a 6-year prison sentence and a 20-year ban on all further filmmaking — strictures imposed in retaliation for his open support of the opposition party in Iran's 2009 elections.

[4] In July of 2022 authorities chose to reimpose his six-year prison sentence after Panahi's inquiries about the arrests of Mohammad Rasoulof and another filmmaker, Mostafa Al-Ahmad.

[11] Calling This Is Not A Film one of the top 10 movies of 2012, critic Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post said it "uses Brechtian staging, blurred lines between documentary and drama, and an iPhone to explore the notion of physical and political boundaries, the aesthetic and technological contours of cinema, and the enduring power of self-expression.

"[12] Critic A. O. Scott of The New York Times rated This Is Not a Film the fourth best documentary of 2012, calling it a "brave and witty video diary, an essay on the struggle between political tyranny and the creative imagination.

"[14] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it "an unusual documentary" that finds a creative solution to Panahi's ban on filmmaking.