Art - MAHAMAG Magazine beyond boundaries

‘Art has no boundaries, but countries have’-.

Iran is proud of the Oscar triumph of Asghar Fahradi’s film The Salesman. The film was already a hit in Iran, breaking all box office records since it came out six months ago. Farhadi’s win has lifted spirits in Iran. The Iranian foreign minister reacted to the news tweeting ‘Proud of cast and crew of “The Salesman” for Oscar and stance against #muslimban. Iranians have represented culture & civilization for millennia’.

The director Asghar Farhadi declined to attend the 89th Academy Award ceremony and had a spokeswoman read from a prepared statement, Farhadi stated he was boycotting the event in solidarity with the seven Muslim nations (including Iran) affected by Trump’s

travel ban. His message was like this “Dividing the world into the ‘us’ 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. Film makers can turn their camera 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.”

Soon after the ban Farhadi said that ‘Solidarity is the key to resist trump. People all over the world should stand up against Fascism’. Many filmmakers from U S and from other

nations came in support of Farhadi. The award was the second Oscar for Farhadi, after his film “A Separation” won in the same category for 2012.

Somewhat ironically of the five nominees in this category, The Salesman is among the least political. The psychological drama is about a young Iranian couple, Ranaa and Emad, who happen to be performers rehearsing for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" rent a new apartment from one of their fellow performers. Unaware of the fact that the previous tenant had been a woman of ill repute having many clients, they settle down. By a nasty turn of events one of the clients pays a visit to the apartment one night while Ranaa is alone at home taking a bath and the aftermath turns the peaceful life of the couple upside down. The picture domestically released in late January. It debuted in Cannes where it won the Screenplay and Best Actor prizes

Ahead of the Oscar ceremony, the six nominated directors in the category released a joint statement expressing their “emphatic disapproval of the climate of fanaticism and nationalism we see today in the U S and in so many other countries”. Together they said that whoever won the Academy Award “we refuse to think in terms of borders. 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.”

Considering the win Tehran film daily Banifilm ran an op-ed saying that Mr. Trump had probably never imagined what contribution the travel ban would have for Farhadi’s film. The trade paper said the executive order had likely propelled “The Salesman” to victory.

Mr. Trump’s victory has prompted concern among many in Iran, particularly in the wake of a 2015 nuclear deal with US and other world powers that led to the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. The Trump administration earlier this month said it was putting Iran on notice after it test fired a ballistic missile.

Iranians reacted to the victory as it has shattered the U S president’s stance on Muslim nations and it showed that American people and artists are against Trump’s policies.
At the other some people says that it cannot be considered as a political move because Farhadi definitely deserves this award.

Even though there exists these two contrasting opinions, it is pretty clear that Trump’s anti-Muslim policies have turned out to be a boon for Asghar Farhadi and his movie. This victory also proves that ‘art has no boundaries, but countries have’.