Veteran Artists Honor Farhadi

Oscar-winner director of Iran cinema Asghar Farhadi was honored at a ceremony held at Cinema Museum in northern Tehran on Friday, in the presence of the film cast and crew, artists, cineastes, cinema officials and a large crowd of fervent fans.

At the event, organized by the House of Cinema, Farhadi appreciated the kindness of his colleagues and people and said, “I believe this award and achievement do not just belong to me and I hope I don’t become supercilious for the much love you express for me,” Cinematicket.com reported.

Farhadi won his and Iran’s second Oscar for ‘The Salesman’ in the best foreign language film category of the 89th Academy Awards last week; however, since he had boycotted the event in a snub to President Donald Trump’s unfair executive order that banned residents of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US, two prominent Iranian-American figures, engineer Anousheh Ansari and a former director in NASA Firouz Naderi, received the award on his behalf.

“I wish God gives me the strength to look ahead despite all the problems and stay encouraged to work here again,” Farhadi added. He said his next movie would be made in Spain and for that reason “I will be away from Iran for a long time.”

Veteran scholar of mysticism and historian Mohammad Ali Movahed, 93, was one of the guests of the event who, addressing Farhadi, said, “It is a blessed night. My age does not let me attend such ceremonies but this one is an exception. I have come here to see you in person and tell you how much I appreciate your dignity and unique intelligence for a decent and thoughtful understanding and reaction in an unexpected situation.”

He was referring to Fahadi’s message, read at the Oscars by Ansari, in part of which he said, “my absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by (Trump’s) inhumane law”.

“Your concise and brilliant message surprised the world,” Movahed noted and presented his first book, published 60 years ago, as a gift to Farhadi.

  “Many Big Names Ignored”

A voice message by veteran filmmaker Bahram Beyzai was played in which he congratulated all Iranians who have won an award in filmmaking anywhere in the world as well as everyone across the globe who has made a good movie but not won a prize because “there are many big names who have been ignored.”

He also sent his gratitude to Farhadi for all the awards he has received so far and said, “For me ‘The Salesman’ is valuable for its careful directing and cultural refinement even if it had not won an award.”

Actress Fatemeh Motameh Arya, head of House of Cinema Manoucher Shahsavari, filmmakers Mohammad Bozorgnia and Homayoun Asadian and cultural activist Mohammad Beheshti were other speakers at the event. Traditional singer Shahram Nazeri and his son Hafez also attended the ceremony.

At the end of the ceremony, head of Iranian Organization of Cinema Hojatollah Ayoubi, filmmakers Bozorgnia, Reza Mirkarimi, Mohammad Ali Najafi and Mostafa Kiai presented two calligraphies created by veteran artists Einoddin Sadeqzadeh and Gholam-Hossein Amirkhani to Farhadi.