Present in competition with Parallel storiesthe filmmaker denounced the Israeli-American strikes which caused civilian casualties, as well as the deaths of numerous demonstrators killed during the anti-government protests in January.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who is presenting a film in competition at Cannes, denounced Friday the civilian deaths caused by Israeli-American bombings in Iran and the « massacre » demonstrators by the Islamic Republic in January. Evoking “two tragic events”Farhadi, one of the biggest names in Iranian cinema, lamented “the death of many innocent people, children, civilians who died during the war, during the attack on Iran”.
The Iranian director spoke in Farsi, translated into French, during the press conference to presentParallel stories . His film, shot in French, was screened Thursday evening in Cannes. “And before this war, that was the death of many demonstrators, people who had taken to the streets to protest, who were just as innocent and who were massacred.”he added. “These two events are extremely painful and will never be forgotten.”insisted the director, Oscar winner twice forA Separation(2011) et alThe Customer  (2016).
Also read
Our review of Parallel Stories: Asghar Farhadi goes around in circles
Skip the ad
“I cannot, without any justification, accept the fact that life has been taken away from a human being, whether it is war, whether it is executions or whether it is massacring demonstrators.”insisted Asghar Farhadi. Iran has been at war with Israel and the United States since February 28 and a fragile ceasefire came into force on April 8.
Previously, major anti-government protests shook Iran during the month of January. According to the Iranian government, which accuses the United States of having orchestrated the uprising, 3,000 people died during these demonstrations. According to human rights organizations based outside Iran, the death toll is between 7,000 and 35,000, mainly killed by security forces during the repression.
Iranian directors must respect strict censorship if they want to work in their country and several of them have already spent time in prison, starting with Jafar Panahi, Palme d’Or winner last year. Mohammad Rassoulof went into exile in Germany.
