Iranian Filmmaker Sends Trump Letter of Protest at Oscars
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, but he wasn’t be there to accept it.
Farhadi was first banned from traveling to America after Trump imposed a Muslim ban. However, when the ban was blocked by the courts, Farhadi decided he would not attend out of protest.
Instead, Farhadi sent a letter of protest, which was read in place of his acceptance speech.
He sent two prominent Iranian-Americans in his place to the ceremony: Anousheh Ansari, the first female private space traveler, and Firouz Naderi, a former director at NASA.
Here’s the full letter:
I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear. A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever. Thank you on behalf of Mr. Farhadi.
