Iranians on Monday cheered the choice of one of their own for the best foreign film Oscar, lauding director Asghar Farhadi’s boycott of the Hollywood ceremony for his film The Salesman as an act of defiance against the Trump administration.
Mr. 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 not attend the ceremony 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 U.S. The award was the second Oscar for Mr. Farhadi, after his film A Separation won in the same category for 2012.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he saw the prize as taking a stance against Mr. Trump’s executive order.
“Proud of Cast and Crew of The Salesman for Oscar and stance against #MuslimBan. Iranians have represented culture and civilization for millennia,” he tweeted in English. Vice President Ishaq Jahangiri praised Mr. Farhadi both for the award and for boycotting the ceremony, calling it a “priceless action.”
State radio and television briefly reported on Mr. Farhadi’s Oscar, while Tehran film daily Banifilm ran an op-ed saying Mr. Trump had “probably never imagined what contribution the travel ban would have for Farhadi’s film.” The trade paper said the executive order had likely propelled “The Salesman” to victory.
