‘Extremely cruel and tragic’: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi speaks out against state violence and the war

The film-maker, who won the Grand Prix for A Hero in 2021, condemned both the killing of protestors and the conflict’s bombing campaigns during a Cannes press conference

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has described the deaths of civilians in Iran as “extremely cruel and tragic” during a press conference at the Cannes film festival.

Farhadi, whose new Paris-set drama Parallel Tales premiered on the Croisette on Thursday night, was asked about working free from censorship in France, the war involving Iran, the US and Israel, and the repression of protesters in his native country.