70th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 17, in the resort city of Cannes, France.

Farhadi, whose film ‘The Salesman’ won two awards at last year’s edition, described the festival as a “place where cultures speak to one another.”

Politics and US President Donald Trump loomed large amidst the cinematic experience. No one mentioned the beleaguered American president by name, but there were allusions to his policies, particularly the ones that target artists and immigrants, Variety reported.

Farhadi - who made headlines after refusing to attend the Academy Awards in February following Trump’s temporary ban on immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries, including Iran, from entering the US - suggested that Cannes, with its multiculturalism, stands in stark relief to the xenophobia taking place in other parts of the world.

“Cannes is a place where cultures speak to each other and respect each other,” he said. “It is a place where people enthusiastically dialogue with each other about cinema and share memorable moments.”

The Iranian filmmaker said he hoped the films shown during the 12-day event would shed light on the “human conditions” of people around the world.

Seventeen-year-old actress Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of famous actor Johnny Depp, accompanied Farhadi, 45, as a symbol of youth, at the opening ceremony.

  All Are Stars in a Way

Italian actress Monica Bellucci, the host of the ceremony, used her moment on stage to wave the flag of artistic expression. “We are all stars in our own way,” she said. “Some stars are banned from shining and expressing themselves. Each star has to find back the freedom to speech and the light it deserves.”

Later at the event, Farhadi finally received his Oscar for best foreign language film, nearly three months after he won the award for ‘The Salesman’ at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony.

According to the Entertainment Weekly, Meredith Shea, an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences representative, traveled to the 2017 Cannes Film Festival to present Farhadi and French producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy with the accolade for their work.

Iran is taking part in the 70th Cannes Festival with five films in different sections. The festival concludes on May 28.

Source: Financial Tribune