'The Salesman' Director Asghar Farhadi Sends a Pointed Political Message to the Oscars
The Iranian director Asghar Farhadi had previously announced that he wouldn’t be attending tonight’s Oscar ceremony, where his latest film, The Salesman, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. As he explained at the time, his decision was motivated by President Trump’s controversial travel ban, which barred entry into the United States for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. Even after that travel ban was blocked by courts, Farhadi — who did attend the Oscars in 2012 when his film, A Separation, won the Oscar in the same category — made it clear that he would be staying away.
Although he was not in the room to accept his Oscar for The Salesman, Farhadi ensured that his voice would be heard. In his place, he asked the Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari to read a short but pointed statement — one that didn’t mention Trump by name, but clearly expressed the feelings of all those who have felt “disrespected” by his policy. “Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear,” Ansari read. “A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression.”
“Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions,” Farhadi’s well-received statement continued. “They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever.”
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