The government of Iran has failed to show any enthusiasm for the Golden Globe that was awarded Sunday to a highly acclaimed Iranian film.
“A Separation,” which enjoyed almost universal acclaim from movie critics for its depth and realism, won the award for best foreign film at the annual event of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Madonna presented the Globe to director Asghar Farhadi, much to the chagrin of the Tehran regime, which censors movies that are made available to the Iranian public.
Farhadi created tension with the Iranian government when he defended Jafar Panahi, another award-winning director who was sentenced to jail in 2010, for so-called security offenses.
In Iran, movie scripts are required to be submitted to a government ministry for approval prior to a film’s release, and several well known directors have been arrested, jailed, and/or banned as a result of government violations.
The government recently shut down the main Iranian filmmakers' association, House of Cinema.
“You have always got to look at these festivals tactfully,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told Reuters.
“Sometimes we see those who run these festivals grant precious awards to films whose main theme is centered on the poverty and hardships of a country's people. This should not lead our artists to ignore the glaring positive points and features of our nation and instead illustrate the kind of things welcomed by such festivals' organizers,” Mehmanparast said.
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