‘Extremely cruel and tragic’: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi speaks out against state violence and the war
The film-maker, who won the Grand Prix for A Hero in 2021, condemned both the killing of protesters and the conflict’s bombing campaigns during a Cannes press conference
TL;DR
- Asghar Farhadi condemned the deaths of civilians in Iran, including protesters and those killed in war, as 'extremely cruel and tragic.'
- He stated that it is possible to condemn state violence and war deaths without contradiction, emphasizing that any murder is a crime.
- Farhadi, who lives outside Iran and avoids making films there due to censorship, urged filmmakers to speak out against war.
- Iranian cinema continues to be represented at Cannes, with other directors like Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof also facing or having faced censorship and exile.