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The audience at the 2017 Academy Awards heartily applauded as a statement from Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who boycotted the ceremony, was read that ridiculed President Trump’s “inhumane” immigration executive order.
Farhardi, the director of The Salesman, said he was skipping this year’s Oscars “out of respect for the people of my country and those of six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.”
The comment drew hearty applause from the gathered Hollywood glitterati.
Here’s his statement in full:
“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 -- thank you. 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.
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