In a statement Jan. 29, Oscar-winning Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi announced that he will not be attending the Academy Awards ceremony later this month. The reason: US President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order to ban citizens of Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. Farhadi’s announcement came as Iran was hosting its own Oscars, the 35th Fajr International Film Festival.
This year, the films screened at the Fajr Film Festival were greatly overshadowed by talk of Trump’s travel ban, Farhadi’s subsequent statement and speculation about what will become of “The Salesman,” which is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.