Iranian cineastes cheer “A Separation” for Golden Globe win

TEHRAN,Jan.18(MNA) -- The Iranian Screen Actors Guild (ISAG) and prominent filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami, Ahmadreza Darvish, and Reza Mirkarimi have praised “A Separation” for winning a Golden Globe Award. Kiarostami hailed the achievement as a “unique success” during an interview with AP on Monday. The ISAG, Darvish, and Mirkarimi congratulated “A Separation” statements published on Monday and Tuesday. “A Separation” won the best foreign language film award at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Many Iranians woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Monday to watch the award presentation ceremony live on Manoto 1, a London-based international Persian-language television network. Filmiran, the Iranian distributor of the film, announced on Monday that it plans to organize special screenings of the film at Tehran’s Azadi Cinematic Complex for a week. Iranian officials often say that only foreign films that present a dark image of their own country are praised by the organizers of international events. Thus, they are chary about hailing Farhadi for winning Iranian cinema’s first Golden Globe. However, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari belatedly sent a letter of congratulation to Farhadi on Tuesday. Former culture minister Ahmad Masjed-Jamei also lauded Farhadi for his success in a statement published on Tuesday. Masjed-Jamei, who is currently on the Tehran City Council and a member of its Cultural and Social Committee, described the film as “anti-lying”. The film’s official opponents had previously said that it portrays Iran as a chaotic society of liars. “A Separation” won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2011. The film also received best foreign language film awards from the U.S. National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. It is Iran’s submission to the foreign language film category at the Academy Awards this year. “A Separation” is also one of five finalists in the foreign language film category at the BAFTA Film Awards, which will be handed out at the Orange British Academy Film Awards in London on February 12.