Najmeh Bozorgmehr The Islamic regime in Tehran has welcomed the countrys first Oscar win for A Separation in the best foreign-language category,even though the opposition regards the film as an anti-government protest. State television in Iran repeatedly broadcast the news,with footage from the 84th Academy Awards where Asghar Farhadi,the films director,received the prize. Javad Shamaghdari,an official for cinema affairs at Irans culture ministry,said the Oscar,which follows the films pioneering success in the same category in the Golden Globes last month,would open a new chapter for Iranian cinema whose taste is further sweetened. Yet he tried to gain political leverage from the prize. The Americans bowed vis-à-vis Iranian culture while the voters of the academy reacted differently compared to the Zionist lobby which is beating the drums of war. A Separation was widely shown in Iran last year after winning five awards at the Fajr film festival,the countrys biggest. Its combined domestic and foreign distribution has made it the best-selling film in the history of Iranian cinema,grossing $10m. The film is about a Tehran couple who are forced to live apart and reflects how divorce in contemporary Iranian society is entangled in contradictions involving tradition,religious belief and morality. It was particularly well received by Irans educated classes,who form the majority of the pro-democracy Green Movement. They encouraged its box-office success last year as a protest against the regime and its sponsored movie,The Outcasts III,which ridiculed opposition demands for fair elections. More than 50 political prisoners yesterday issued a statement welcoming the award,which they said shows an honest image of life in todays Iran. and has echoed a message of peace in the world at a time that Irans current rulers project a harsh and sullen face of our people internationally. Despite the official welcome,some hardliners have expressed dismay at the Oscar win. Jamal Shourjeh,a director whose films centre on the 1980s Iran-Iraq war,described the award as a continuation of the US plots against Iran because it depicts a grim and bitter image of Iran. © 2012 The Financial Times Limited
