Oscar nominee frozen out of US by Trump’s Muslim ban

Asghar Farhadi, an Academy award nominee, is one of the early casualties of US President, Donald Trump’s new immigration ban.

Citizens of Iran and six other predominantly-Muslim countries have been banned from entering the United States for 90 days.

Farhadi, an Iranian movie director whose movie The Salesman is nominated for the foreign language film award, may not be able to attend the ceremony.

Trita Parsi, the head of the National Iranian American Council, told CNN that Farhadi can only make it into the US by means of an exception.

“He can’t come in. He’s an Iranian passport holder, so he cannot come in. There’s no way around that unless Trump wants to give an exception.

“Obviously it’s putting a dark shadow over this event. This is supposed to be a celebration of art that’s supposed to be without boundaries. And now we see what boundaries do.

“I think they are a truly peace-loving people. I hope the winner will speak on this behalf, and express their sentiments about rejecting a genius like Asghar Farhadi on the sole basis that his origin is Iran.”

A spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has also released a statement, saying, “The Academy celebrates achievement in the art of filmmaking, which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences.

“As supporters of filmmakers-—and the human rights of all people—around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year’s Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.”

Farhadi’s film A Separation won the foreign language film award in 2012, and also won the Golden Globe for the same category.

The Academy awards will take place on February 26.