One Oscar Winner Skipped the Ceremony in Protest of Donald Trump's Travel Ban
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi just won his second Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this time for The Salesman, but he wasn't at the ceremony to accept the award. He had vowed not to attend the Oscars in late January, after President Trump's now-stalled travel ban restricted travel for people from seven nations, including Iran.
In a statement on January 29th, he wrote:
Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an "us and them" mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of "them" and inflict fear in the people of their own countries. This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same.
Though the ban was ultimately halted by a court order, Farhadi has stuck with his initial decision, and in his place, engineer Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman in space, accepted his Oscar.
She read this statement from the director:
It's a great honor to be receiving this valuable award for the second time. I would like to thank the members of the Academy, my crew in Iran, my producer, Amazon, and my fellow nominees.
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 inhuman law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. Dividing the world into the U.S. 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. Thank you.
Farhadi wasn't the only director in the category to make a statement. Together, all five nominees released a letter that condemned divisive politics and nationalist rhetoric. "On behalf of all nominees, we would like to express our unanimous and emphatic disapproval of the climate of fanaticism and nationalism we see today in the U.S. and in so many other countries, in parts of the population and, most unfortunately of all, among leading politicians," the statement began. It continued:
"Regardless of who wins the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film on Sunday, we refuse to think in terms of borders," they wrote. "We believe there is no best country, best gender, best religion or best color. We want this award to stand as a symbol of the unity between nations and the freedom of the arts. Human rights are not something you have to apply for. They simply exist–for everybody."
All five filmmakers reportedly collaborated on the letter and whoever wins the award may speak for the group tonight as well.
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