Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi condemned both the killing of civilians in US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the "massacring" of protesters by the Islamic republic during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.
Farhadi, who traveled from Tehran last week, spoke at Cannes where his latest film, the French-language "Parallel Tales," had its premiere. He carefully addressed events in his war-hit homeland, referring to two "tragic events" this year: the death of many innocent people, including children and civilians, during the war and the attack Iran suffered, and before that, the death of demonstrators who were massacred while protesting.
"Every murder is a crime. From no point of view, or with any justification, can I accept life being taken away from someone, whether it's a war, an execution, or massacring protesters," Farhadi said.
Iran has been at war with Israel and the United States since February 28, with a shaky ceasefire in place since April 8. Since the conflict began, Tehran has increased executions, particularly in cases involving espionage or security charges. Iran experienced massive anti-government protests that peaked in January. The government acknowledged over 3,000 deaths during the protests but attributed the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the US and Israel. Human rights groups and researchers outside Iran estimate that between 7,000 and 35,000 people were killed in indiscriminate shooting by security forces.
Filmmakers in Iran face strict censorship and constant pressure from authorities. Several prominent directors, including Jafar Panahi, who won Cannes' top prize last year, and Mohammad Rasoulof, have been jailed or forced into exile.
Farhadi has won two Oscars for best foreign language film, for "A Separation" (2011) and "The Salesman" (2016). His new film "Parallel Tales," a story about voyeurism and art in Paris with an all-star French cast, received disappointing reviews after its Cannes screening on Thursday. Film magazine Screen called it "convoluted and superficial," while Variety described it as "weirdly muddled."
