Speculation surrounding which film would represent Iran at the 2017 Academy Awards finally came to an end in mid-September with the selection of “The Salesman” by Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi. The movie was chosen by a committee of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. “The Salesman” won the best screenplay and best male actor prizes at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but Iranian critics are unhappy about its selection for the US awards. They have complained of script problems, that it presents a distorted image of Iranian society and that it undermines family honor and dignity.
In 1997, director Abbas Kiarostami, who died July 4, won the Palme d’Or, the highest award at Cannes, for his “Taste of Cherry.” His accomplishment of becoming the first Iranian to win at Cannes received very little attention or praise in Iran. Kiarostami was not publicly greeted at the airport upon his return to Tehran, nor were there long lines to see his film. In fact, “Taste of Cherry” was banned in Iran. Nineteen years later, however, the situation is very different.
Farhadi was applauded on social media and extended a warm welcome at Tehran's airport following his success in Cannes. Government officials as well as cultural and other political figures congratulated him. The public also welcomed his film, lining up outside cinemas as early as 6:30 a.m. to see it. At the airport, Farhadi had told his lead actor, Shahab Hosseini, “Abbas Kiarostami came through this same route with the Palme d’Or, but some were waiting to hit him in the airport.”
Saeed Ghotbizadeh, an Iranian TV and cinema critic, told Al-Monitor, “In societies like Iran, where the government monitors and has a say in cultural issues, some filmmakers are viewed as close to state organizations because their work contains propaganda or topics that the [political establishment] orders. Other filmmakers who present bold and hot topics are seen as in the cultural opposition. Farhadi belongs to neither of these groups.”
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