Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar on Sunday (February 26), and sent two Iranian-Americans to accept the award in his place: Anousheh Ansari, a space traveler, and Firouz Naderi, former director at NASA.
“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 inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. 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. 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,” Anousheh read on stage.
The statement was made to speak out against Donald Trump‘s immigration ban.
