Iranians cheer Farhadi’s Oscar as rebuke of Trump policies
TEHRAN, Iran — The Oscar for Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” energized many of the filmmaker’s fellow Iranians, who saw the win for best foreign film Monday as a pointed rebuke to the Trump administration and its efforts to deny them entry into the U.S.
Farhadi refused to attend the Academy Awards, announcing after the temporary U.S. travel ban was initially imposed last month for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries that he would skip it even if an exception was made for him. Iran was one of the seven countries affected by the measure, which has since been blocked from being carried out by a federal court ruling.
“The Salesman” — about a couple performing Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” and their attempts to find peace and justice after the wife is attacked at their Tehran apartment — had become a rallying cry for immigrant rights after the travel ban.
The six nominated directors in the foreign language category had put out a joint statement ahead of the award decrying what they called the climate of “fanaticism” in the United States and dedicating the award to the promotion of “unity and understanding” regardless of who won.